It's All About the Shotgun

Living self-sufficiently somewhere far from the oppressive smog and whiplash speed of a big city sometimes looks like a watercolour dream. So I'm glad I had the opportunity to listen to Cam Mather speak candidly about life off-grid. Cam is the author of Thriving During Challenging Times a book that has proven to be more popular in the United States than it has in Canada where he lives. He suspects this is because the crisis of 2008 (and it's after-effects) have been glossed over by our eternally optimistic politicians and I'm inclined to agree with him.

For the past 10 years Cam has lived off-grid on a 150-acre farm about 30 minutes north of Kingston, Ontario. He's learned a lot over those past 10 years and he's also changed a lot. It's funny how being surrounded by farmers and hunters can do that to a guy. He's hardly the hippie one might think and he's certainly not an avid hunter who collects bear skins for fun. Still, he's thinking of getting a 20 gauge shotgun to replace the 12 gauge that nearly knocks him off his feet. Of course, the less powerful weapon is really for his wife. Really, it is.

How does a pacifist vegetarian from Burlington become a shotgun toting father living in the middle of rural Ontario? There's no short answer to that, but I think I understand the psychological process since I'm going through it now myself. I find it's easier to ride the wave of change when you're not attached to the labels you've given yourself. When you can tear them off and throw them in the recycling bin it makes buying a shotgun all that much easier.

It's been an exhausting week and I'm still absorbing Cam's presentation from earlier today but I hope to write more about his talk in the near future. Stay tuned...