How do our lives compare to life 100 years ago?
By STEVEN TURNER
Natural Landscaper
The pace of movement in everything from physical objects, people, and equipment to communication, information, and art is so far different from only 100 years ago that it’s hard to comprehend fully. After mentioning poor soils in last month’s article, I would like to start by answering the end of the previous article’s question: “So why is it that such an important part of our daily lives (soil) is missed in our society?” To spark some more imagination here, let’s focus on history and how we got here. From what I understand, this has been a slow, gradual slide to where we are now regarding food security and poor soils.
Just 100 years ago, it was a different reality. People depended on their imagination, social and physical skills, and trust to survive. Not to say these are not still foundational to our current culture and society, but it’s more complex with more populated areas and technological advancements.
Just 100 years ago, people fed themselves and entire populations locally. Transportation was limited with trains, boats, horses, and foot mobility; therefore, locating anything was slower. Life happened at a slower pace. This made people rely on their local communities for resources directly for survival.
Enslavers had the advantage as physical labor was the engine for how much we could achieve in one lifetime. Of course, owning more skilled enslaved people was the way to future innovation and progress back then—anything producing resources from building materials to food to transportation. The industrial revolution in the early 1900s of labor and skill-based hard work built America up to get to where it is today.
Oil and technological advancements since the Industrial Revolution created new possibilities. We can now quickly transport resources globally due to innovation in transportation via roadways, airplanes, and the internet, all powered by oil. It is said that one barrel of oil converts to roughly 25,000 man-hours. Talking to each other worldwide instantly adds value in ways that are still hard to comprehend.
One hundred years ago, we were closely related to our environment because we had to be! How we interacted without soil, environment, landscapes, and each other determined how rich our lives were. With or without money, engaging with life in a more connected way is arguably more valued than not engaging with each other or our landscapes and feeling disconnected. Because we lived in a more connected way, our lives were richer and healthier, people could trust each other, the environment wasn’t totally being destroyed, mismanaged, or poisoned with chemicals, and it was a more peaceful existence.
Nowadays, the soil is often overlooked, especially by younger generations. The health and quality of our lives depend on the soil’s health and quality, yet we feel so disconnected that we can not even see this as a reality. I was born during the widespread use of the VCR. Still, after enough communication, experience, and connecting with elders throughout my life, I am getting a glimpse of perspective from this significant change in our daily lives from just 100 years ago. Living off the grid, homesteading, building primitive camps, shelters, gardens, and hand-dug wells for farmers and people in the Ozark communities gave me a good idea of living 100 years ago. It was like going back in time. Sweat equity took us far and still does, but we are getting lazier and lazier in some ways because our supplies are so readily accessible to us at any given moment. So, through this transition from 100 years ago, our health and well-being or daily lifestyles were directly correlated to how we treated each other and the environment, soils, etc., to now, where technology and other advancements allow us not to interact with our environment or community to a certain degree and still get access to all these foods, resources, and livelihoods is why, I believe we are missing the importance of how healthy our soil and environment are.
Another way of saying this might be to point at the idea that people feel separate from each other and their environment. We feel disconnected because our systems are set up where we don’t have to be involved with anything except a bare minimum level to exist. Living in such a way creates a selfish, fearful, and lonely life, aka hell on Earth.
To numb this pain of feeling separate, people are often turning towards substance abuse, poor habits, and lack of any motivation or drive to live, not to mention no ‘response-ability.’ This means the ability to respond to whatever life is throwing our way. We are creating our own hell here on earth right now with our lifestyles, are not aware of it, and therefore don’t see why or how to change. I have witnessed this in my own life. I am constantly working towards improving awareness, increasing connection and relationships with people, the planet, and god, or the source of all of our existence.
Living intentionally and helping ourselves by serving our community and planet in healthier ways gives us a sense of connection, purpose, and excitement for life. This is the way back to heaven on Earth or at least demonstrating a peaceful existence here today! Heaven doesn’t have to be somewhere else when we can create it in our daily lives with our community and environments, right? Jesus taught us to love our neighbors as ourselves. Is this because he saw the connection we all have with each other? Are we not just reflections of each other in different experiences that create diversity in the world? How can we be separate from god if god is required to beat our hearts, sustain our miracle-filled lives, or even function at all? The more connected to this life we feel, the better life is for all of us together. Connecting to our landscapes in a healthy way is an excellent way to feel connected to the planet! Grow native and edible plants in your landscape to help balance the loss of our native habitat and wildlife due to development, ignorance, and feelings of separation!
Steven Turner is the owner of Plant Lives Matter LLC. You can find him on social media platforms @plantlivesmatterllc. You may see him around Hernando County enjoying the beautiful land and working to improve our natural resources.
