Sweet Home, Happy New Year

It is so easy for me to enjoy the peace and calm of Winter here in rural Sweet Home, Oregon.

It is the childhood home of my wife, the Ogilby's Humble Hollow. It is a quiet hollow surrounded by a beautiful mix of fir forest and carefully tended north-western farming. An idyllic landscape many would covet far fewer would actually have the patience for. It is this patience, a loved land and its the caring stewardship what makes the Ogilby hollow so invigorating.

As this year winds down Humble Hollow reminds me of other landscapes, each with their own mantle and spirit.

Brittany's father Clem has a brother-in-law in Maine who also lives surrounded by a landscape he loves. He love of the earth as a geologist making his location all the sweeter. He takes sea-kayaking and winter cross-country as adventure through Earth's millinea of milleneum invested in the landscape of his forest and coast. We took long walks with Uncle Boo-boo on fire roads set into the surrounding forests to make them accessible and halt forest fires.

Humble Hollow also reminds me of the Bapu Kuti's ashram in India's burnt interior. On the Ghandian ashram, the development of harmless activity as a community is the simple goal. Their work challenges us all to think of our personal and communal relationship to self-sufficiency and service. Bapu's life and work reminds me of justice, how our love for our family during the holidays makes us stronger to do justice to our fellows throughout the years.

Bapu's ashram reminds me of my own family history in Ahmednagar. Our families walked and rode horses to a place wshich is still in service today. None of us are perfect (for long) and so it goes with the history of the American Missions my family endeavored in.

Amednagar reminds me of Selma, Indiana. All Shroyers I am closely related to walked from Pennsylvania to Selma 180 years ago. They learned the benefits of self-sufficiency that first Winter as they arrived with little time to construct permanent shelter. They all wintered over together in the buggy. The next Spring they settled in.

Selma, Indiana reminds me of the costs, opportunities, and consequences of rural self-sufficiency. Rural self-sufficiency reminds me of why I am such a huge proponent of ZERI. Aren't we all searching for ways to use labor, nature, and science to insure the health and welfare of our planet for coming generations?

ZERI has been studying the "best solutions for social and economic development, using available resources designing a competitive model that provides water, food, health, energy and jobs for all." Is ZERI something you can orient your community towards and support. I have a New Year's resolution. I am going to champion ZERI and its benefits much in 2011.

ZERI reminds me of the end of December 2010. We were in Tokyo. What a year!

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ZERI leaves us with this lovely poem on their homepage:

If I can see a little further than the green economy today

it is because I can stand on the shoulders of so many giants.

The poem reminds me of why I love to visit Sweet Home, Oregon. Sweet Home reminds me of family. Oregon is family to me. I love to be around rural stewardship. Oregon has done a fine job of taking its roles of rural stewardship pretty seriously.

Stewardship reminds me of the family and holidays: It reminds me of what people tell me I will appreciate about the holidays each year (even as much as they know I will fuss).

Blessings and Prosperity to you all in the New Year 2011 and the Year of the Rabbit.

Footnote: The chart at the top of the page is for all who love mushrooms, bread, and beer!

Happy New Year to all where ever your Sweet Home may be,