I’m not quite sure how we have arrived at this place we are at. I guess when I think back, I sort of saw much of the writing on the wall when I started blogging and as the internet began to grow and occupy much more of our daily lives. When did so many lose their kindness and community and merely start thinking only of themselves?

I think about simpler times when we all seemed to not only know our neighbors, but those in our community. We had a co-dependency on one another for an array of things. Community and kindness prevailed. We needed the farmer to help put food on the table and a neighbor to help take a tree down or mend a fence or borrow that cup of sugar. People called upon the doctor in person, sought the general store to bring in provisions and relied on friends to help rebuild lives during times of turmoil. We interacted on a daily basis and many knew much about one another.

People in the town kept an eye on the kids and were quick to correct their poor choices or bad behaviors even calling our parents to let them know. Parenting was a community affair. We spent time together listening to music, sitting on porches in the evening and even sharing a meal as a community to raise funds for someone in need. We caught lightning bugs with the other neighborhood kids.

Thanks to the internet and its many applications, many of us are part of a global communities filled with wonderful people. But it is different. Often we are miles apart and have never met in person. We simply don’t rely on one another much for our in-person day to day needs. A trip to the large grocery store or box store has practically all we need and if we can’t find it, we order it online. We have online doctor visits now- sometimes with people miles away who don’t know us personally. Life has become a bunch of transactions instead of interactions. I saw a video the other day from a foreign country. While at the checkout counter,  small talk with the cashier costs an extra fee. If the fee is unpaid, your transaction is done in silence.

What Have We Become?

This sort of mindset and in my opinion the “selfie” has turned into the belief that only you matter. Just live your life for you. Don’t worry about other’s feelings. Don’t worry about driving safely or courteously. Forget about manners, you don’t even need to hold the door or smile at people. The earth doesn’t matter, just continue to abuse it because only your lifetime matters. Don’t worry about being there for your co-workers for years building a work family and team. Even regular nightly family dinners have gone by the wayside.

Jobs are now disposable. Job hopping is the norm. Companies no longer see people as valuable but more as a commodity simply filing a hole. If you leave, your spot will be filled. The qualifications and skills of the person filling your job no longer need to match those who are being replaced. Also, everything is automated. It seems to take forever to reach someone on the phone when we have a problem that requires a person in customer service. Everything is different and to me it feels like kindness and community are becoming more difficult to find.

Divisiveness Has Become the Norm

For a long time, people in power have been trying to divide us and polarize us. They have tried using race, guns, abortion, sex, pandemics, medicine and politics. They just keep trying to create more and more divide. Have you been paying attention to this? Never have I ever felt such a divisiveness or that people are only concerned about themselves. Is it only me that feels this way? Somedays, it’s too much because I am not really sure that I can stop the way the world is becoming. Is it because as I get older that I long for simpler kinder days? Do I sound like my parents? We seem to have lost the flock mentality that was slipping away even back in 2016 when I wrote about it.

It’s complicated for sure and it does weigh on me thinking about the my childrens’ future as they continue to embark further from my nest. I’ve planted all the seeds that I can into their hearts on how to be a good person and what is important in life. How will they fair in a world that seems so foreign to me now? Will we return to one day fostering relationships with those in our own backyards?

Chicken Wisdom: Kindness and Community

My chickens are quite elderly. I didn’t think that all of them would happen to live so long, but I think now that I’m still on that third flock of mine, I’ve learned how to keep them with me. Having this much time with them has been an absolute blessing. I spend a lot of time with them. Their lives are simple but rich in so many ways. They are such good reminders.

Remember to look out for one another.

Be sure that everyone is present and accounted for and safely at home for the evening.

Be sure to stick together as there is safety in numbers.

Help one another out, dust bathing is a communal affair.

Share extras with one another. The rooster enjoys sharing his finds with his ladies.

Deep friendships sometimes don’t even require words, often just being near one another can allow hearts and souls to speak and fill one another up.

Adventures are always better with companions.

Explore together.

Keep your young tucked under your wings so that they can learn from you on how the world around them works and what types of behaviors are expected within the family.

Technology has its place but shouldn’t dominate your life. An automatic coop door is awfully handy, but even that can fail you at times. There is nothing like the chicken keeper greeting the flock in the morning with a handful of scratch!

Spending time outdoors can be very therapeutic. Spend time barefoot in the yard and garden and connect with the earth.

The soil can be healing so spend time in the garden planting, tending and enjoying the harvest.

Fresh air can do a lot of the soul.

Keep a keen eye on what is right in front of you in real life, if you keep looking down, you might just miss out on something beautiful or spectacular.

Wait for one another on longer journeys.

Make new friends along the way.

And always be sure to say good morning and good night.

At the end of the day you can agree to disagree and still find yourselves eating together and sharing the same roost.