Three Weeks with Jessica

Tomorrow marks the third weekiversary of my time here at Factor e. It feels like I’ve been here much longer, but only in a good way. Every day is a little bit different, but what remains consistent is hard work, thoughtful discussions, days seemingly too short to accomplish everything I wake up wanting to do, a sense of connection to the land and an overall purpose, and in my case feelings of gratitude for ending up here. This has been my first experience working on a farm (I got here through WWOOF), and for many reasons I feel like I was meant to come here, and of all the organic farms listed in WWOOF I feel like it was more than mere chance that I ended up here. I have for a few years now toyed with the idea of one day getting land, but always worried in the end that doing so would basically be giving up on society and getting away to lead a personally gratifying but overall selfish lifestyle. Having seen the vision in progress at Factor e, I feel a lot more inspired to get land, and have been shown a clear example of how I can do that while also working for the greater good, for the transformation of society, and the improvement of the quality of life in general for us modern humans. I can’t say the path to my future is clear, but I feel I am definitely on the right one. The unique synthesis of sustainable, people-oriented technology and back-to-the-land ecological lifestyle will provide a viable alternative for those who feel alienated in the world of superficial plastic economies. More and more people, if shown there is in fact another way, a way that speaks to the mind and the heart and also provides a better quality of life for us and the earth which is the source of absolutely everything we have and need and don’t need, will want to change. I believe to survive we will have to change, and finally I am starting to have real hope that it can and will happen. I may be leaving here in a week or a few weeks, but I know already that this land and the vision here have changed my life.