Wednesday, September 26, 2012

We Are Different




I can get a little wrapped up in my own little bubble sometimes. The bubble of families who journey a similar path as we do, the bubble of my lovely blog friends who live simply on this earth as we do, the bubble of our life here on this little homestead we call home. Then something happens to burst my bubble.

The burst is usually a big one, often from a place of judgement or negativity, both places I don’t like.

 
On Sunday I ventured into the big city of Toronto to attend a friend’s baby shower. I was looking forward to the shower, my girlfriend is journeying a path similar to ours with dreams of a little homestead of her own one day. She is a fellow nutritionist, Ironman athlete and natural parenting advocate, so yes; we have a lot in common.

I only knew one other person on the guest list, so I was looking forward to meeting some new faces. And I did. You know how conversations go...people want to know how you know the guest of honour, where you live, what you do, and so on. They asked questions about Reece, who was with me and the conversation moved toward our lifestyle, our homestead and life learning.

Then it happened, my bubble burst, but not in a way it has burst before. It burst with gratitude, joy and love. You see the couple I was talking to, about ten years older than me, were genuinely interested. I mean really interested. They wanted to know about our gardens and what we grew, how we preserved our food, the chickens, the soon to be bee hives and everything else we are planning on this little plot of land we call home. And then the questions about life learning, but smart intelligent questions, not just the “what about socialization” questions, but questions about how we have set things up, how and if I will set up any type of structure, the Waldorf philosophy and so on. Smart, interesting questions which allowed me to share, not defend, our decisions.

It was wonderful!


The end of our conversation was met with much sadness. There was so much more I wanted to share with them, so much more I wanted them to know.

As I drove home, I thought about how different the life we are leading is from the norm. Living in my little bubble I often forget that. This encounter though, totally different from ones in the past which have me defending instead of sharing, warmed my heart and tickled my soul.

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I am guest posting over at Little Coffee Beans today, please stop by and say hi!

26 comments:

  1. How wonderful to have met like minded open people and be able to share like that! Reading about it made me smile :-)

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  2. What a great post - it left me feeling uplifted - what a great reminder about all those positive people out there!

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    1. The whole experience uplifted me, it was one I will remember for a long time.

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  3. Glad you had such a good bubble bursting. I love when people are different yet so accepting!

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    1. If only there were more people like that in our world...

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  4. What a lovely post. It's always so gratifying to meet open and like-minded souls. Celebrate your being different :)

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    1. I am so very grateful for this lovely moment with them.

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  5. That doesn't happen often to me either but I love it when it does! This post was so heart warming, thank you!

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  6. How refreshing that your lifestyle was intriguing to this couple. I know the feeling, all too well, of feeling like you have to defend your parenting or lifestyle choices to people who just don't get it. Sounds like you experienced a moment of "yay for humankind!"

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    1. YES! That is the perfect way to put it Lisa.

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  7. Oh Kim, this warmed my heart! As I began reading this post, I was bracing myself for something awful - because all us moms have been on the bad end of a bubble burst at one time or another! I am so delighted at the positive bubble burst for once!

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  8. That's sch a lovely way to have your bubble burst, Kim:) So many times the questions and interest we get as home schoolers is nothing like the lovely encounter you just had. So lovely to meet genuinely interested people. xx

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    1. It was really wonderful Kim. I am sure you have had encounters totally opposite to this one, I am always bracing myself for those ones, but this one was just so lovely.

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  9. What a wonderful experience! When I had my boys, I used a mid wife(which was NOT the norm) and so many people thought I was crazy...then I met some like minded women and I felt so relieved and vindicated. It's sad that there is so much judgement in the world we live in, but there are also a lot of open minded and like minded people who are genuinely interested in the path we take. Again, I'm so glad you had a wonderful experience!

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  10. How lucky for you. All too often I am met the other not so nice bubble bursting. It is so nice to connect with people and not have to defend yourself, not to feel like you have to argue and constantly defend your choices. It becomes tiring and also soul depleting I find. Everyone makes choices,we all have to make ones that work and feel right with our families. No one should be made to feel like their decisions are "wrong". What a wonderful experience for you!!

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    1. It does become tiring after a while, I totally agree. This is why this experience as so uplifting and inspiring. It is one I will remember for quite some time.

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  11. Love it :) What a wonderful bubble bursting experience!

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  12. I am so glad you had such a wonderful time :)
    Isn't it lovely to share with people who are genuinely interested to understand why we do things differently :)
    People who have open hearts and minds are a gift to us all :)

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  13. what a beautiful experience! it's always so nice to be able to share what you are passionate about to open and interested ears!

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    1. It truly was, and yes, I love sharing and chatting with others who are open to listening even if they have different views than us, makes for interesting conversations.

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