Sumara Brown - 'loving, longing, open, thoughtful, odd'

"You've got to be what tomorrow needs" (- My Chemical Romance)  Sumara Brown's favourite quote.  

Like so many of us who are trying to live simply - Sumara often feels like a 'lone boat in a storm'... AND that is why I interview  fellow simple livers. So that we will know that we are not alone at all. To build a tribe. - Asta

1. Describe yourself in 5 words

          Loving. Longing. Open. Thoughtful. Odd.

2. Introduce us to your family.

I’m married to Noel, a very hard-working truck driver. He’s loving and stubborn and makes me laugh. I have two daughters who are 9 and 7, and a 4-year-old son. They are three very different children but have in common their wild smiles and affectionate natures. I love them to bits.

3 What do you see as your priorities? How does that play out in your life?

Priority 1 is the children. That’s meant putting my career-that-never-was on hold, and it’s also meant a lot of your typical rearranging-life-around-the-children stuff with daily life, jobs, finances etc.

Other priorities are reading (to stay informed and for pleasure), music/film/art (for pleasure and general life goodness), trying/learning to be healthy, & finding ways to do things more efficiently or environmentally-friendly.

I love that you include reading and the arts, because I think they are so important to our well being, and in turn that makes  the world a better place.


4. September’s challenge is simple parenting. Would you like to share something that is working for you?

I don’t know about “working”, but I’m learning that children just need to be allowed to be who they are. Sounds so simple, but some children are oh-so-different from any expectations anyone has that it can actually be scary and difficult to just watch them be. It can take a great leap of faith to trust in them to know what they need, but once you take that leap it’s kind of awesome to see what they can achieve.

I also find it really important to just be honest with my kids. They know that I’m human. They see me cry, and lose my temper, and laugh, and apologise, and everything else. And they know they can question me or my rules and get an honest answer. Most of the time (see: I’m human.).

5. Would you call yourself a simple liver? How does your life reflect that? 

                I don’t know, actually. Some aspects of the way I live are quite simple and natural – eg I buy and eat food that’s as natural & chemical-free as possible and I cook from scratch – but some aspects are rather the opposite… I spend an inordinate amount of time staring at that wretched iphone, for example, unable to tear myself away from the daily happenings of far-away people.

                I think I’m more on the path towards simple living than actually there yet.

6. Who inspires you? Perhaps you could share with us who set you off on this path.

Well, Johnny Depp inspires me… but I guess he doesn’t have much to do with simple living.

I think you might be surprised Sumara. How is this quote from Johnny Depp? 'There are four questions of value in life. What is sacred? Of what is the spirit made? What is life worth living for, and what is life worth dying for? The answer to each is the same. Only love.'

Some people who have inspired me to live more simply are Amanda Soule at soulemama.com, Rhonda from Down To Earth, the couple at happyearth.com.au, a few amazing parents that I met in homeschooling groups last year, and many other friends. I tend to take bits and pieces of information and inspiration from all over the place.

7. What are you reading right now? Do you have some favourite books you could share with us – and in particular any that can inspire us on our simple living journey?

Oh dear, well, right now I’m reading “Crop Circles: Signs of Contact” by Colin Andrews. How’s that for left field? But actually, from what I’ve read so far, the message seems to be that crop circles could be a “message” from earth itself warning humankind about environmental damage…. So I guess it could be quite relevant… grain of salt may be required.

Also currently reading a book about film. I love film.

I haven’t actually got any books about simple living – as you can see above I tend to get that input from blogs and friends. But I can’t answer this question without mentioning my favourite book of all time – Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. It will definitely inspire you on any kind of journey.

8. What are you passionate about?

Film, theatre, acting – I have a theatre degree and would still love to get back into it.

Music – I don’t play much anymore but I listen a great deal, and my favourite bands are quite ridiculously important to me.

Gender equality – I cannot STAND gender stereotyping or gender discrimination, it makes me SO angry. It’s one of the few things I will actually make phone calls or send emails to complain about. I am stubbornly determined that my children will know they can wear/do/play/read/study/go/be anything and anyone, and anywhere they want.

9. What do you hope for? Dream of? 

Ok – I want to live on our property, raising animals & vegetables and making beautiful things, while working as an actor in film and theatre, traveling the world, earning enough money to provide for my family and give lots away.

I dream, also, of having my close friends closer by, of my children growing to be amazing, loving, hardworking adults, of meeting the people who inspire me, of helping to change the world by daring to speak up.

I dream of a world where everyone who has any space grows their own food and creates their own power and shares what they have, and where communities can rely on each other.

I feel a bit like John Lennon right now. I’m not sorry. :)

10. What can we learn from you? Or if you prefer – what have you learnt?

You could learn from me that people can be so much more than one impression or one side of a personality. I would happily teach you (lecture you, as Noel would probably call my insistent exhortations…) that there is always another side to the story. My parents always told me I was arguing just for the sake of arguing. I just so desperately needed to point out that there might be another point of view.

As for what I’ve learnt – gosh, a lot. How about a simple one – when something needs doing, it’s always easier to do it straight away. Waiting until some other time is never the right answer. Just do it, and then it’s done. (Please note I rarely actually succeed in this ideal… there are always undone jobs waiting in my life. But I’m getting there!)


11. What is one of your biggest simple living challenges? 

I find it hard feeling like a lone boat in a storm. I don’t have much of a community around me here, and Noel is not all that passionate about this sort of thing so I tend to feel like it’s just lil ole me, not making much of a dent in the world. That’s one reason I rely on online friends/communities so much.

12. You have just started blogging. Would you like to share with us why you started your blog and what your focus is?

Movin’ to the Country is all about us transitioning from suburban townhouse-dwellers to country landowners. I started it to a) allow friends & family to keep up with plans & progress, and b) reach out to find like-minded people. It also gives me a place to explore issues and ideas that come up along the way.

http://movintothecountry.wordpress.com/

13. You are a valuable contributor on The Simply Living Challenge. What appeals to you about the page? How can we support you? 

Thank you! The appeal is twofold – the inspiring ideas and the encouragement from others. It’s such a friendly place. Having you all visit the blog when I mention it is much appreciated!

14. Anything else you want to share? 

          Just that I'm very glad I found this page and community. Its a lovely place and really helps me to remember that every little step I take towards an ideal is some progress. Every little bit really does help. 

I can't thank you enough Sumara - for taking time out of your day to answer my questions. It has been lovely to get to know you better. 

Live simply so that others might simply live...

Peace and all good to you my friends,

Asta x
                

Afternoon tea with simple liver Renee Mellor.

Renee Mellor

"What can you learn from me? That you can do more than you ever thought possible. I never thought I would be milking a goat, or canning tomatoes, or starting 600 vegetable plants from seed, but I did all of those things this year. Open your mind to the possibilities and see what happens."- Renee Mellor

With us today is Renee, who has the loveliest smile - wouldn't you agree? She smiles with her eyes. She has been part of the Simple Living Challenge community now for quite some time and her contributions and encouragements have obviously not escaped my notice. Thank you Renee. So let the conversation begin...

How would you describe yourself in 5 words? Hmm, this is hard because I try not to label myself too much, but I'll try. I'm passionate, stubborn, messy, complicated, and determined.

5 words that others might use? This one's easy. Loving, stubborn, bossy, opinionated, and fun.

We'd love to meet your family. Please introduce them to us. I've been married to my amazing husband for 15 years now, he's a great husband and an even better father. I have an 11-year-old son, Gabriel, who is moderately autistic. He has challenged me to be more patient and worry less about what people think. I have twins that will be 10 next week. Ian is mildly autistic and he's an amazingly smart and literal kid. He's taught me that it's important to do what you say you're going to do, when you say you're going to do it. Aislyn is a beautiful, smart, happy girl, who has a huge joy for life and finds such joy in the simple things in life. Lily, my baby, just turned 4 and is in that stage where she wants to do exactly what Mommy does. Nothing makes her happier than picking tomatoes in the garden or collecting eggs from the hens. 

What would you say are your priorities in life? To raise, healthy, happy, well-adjusted kids who know that people are more important than things, and that easy isn't always best. Some of the most important things in life take hard work. They have to do chores, they have to help with the animals and the garden, they have to be respectful and polite whenever possible. I'm teaching them right from wrong, in a society that doesn't seem to care anymore about right and wrong. I hope I'm teaching them to question things and not believe everything that society tells them is important. I want them to thrive, no matter what they choose to do.

What does Daily Bread mean to you, if anything?  Even as a Pagan I understand that this means so much more than food to eat. I'd say, for me, it's having the things we need. That's NEED, not want. I'm getting better every day at figuring out the difference. We need good food, clean air, clean water, and the company of the people we love. I'm lucky to have everything I need right now.

 How does your life reflect your simple living philosophy?  I think a big part of simple living is to separate ourselves from the "consumer" mindset. Having more things doesn't make you happier, it just makes you in debt and surrounded by a bunch of stuff that you could easily do without. It doesn't matter if your neighbour has a bigger house, a newer car, nicer clothes. 

 Also, I think that it's important to be as self-reliant as possible. We raise rabbits and ducks for meat, we have a flock of laying hens and a couple of dairy goats. We've got a big garden and we're putting in fruit trees as the budget allows. All of these things allow us (or will in the future) to stop spending so much money, which will allow my husband to work less.

Who inspires you? My grandpa, who plants his garden every year. My grandma, who recycles and composts and makes the most amazing soups out of leftovers. My mom, who lost everything she owned in a fire last year and rebuilt, and got on with the business of living. My husband, who supports me, no matter what crazy idea I come up with. My children, who need me to be a good example.

 What are your favourite books?I'm just assuming you are a reader... Oh, this is really hard, as reading has always been one of my favourite ways to escape stress. For informational purposes, I love Back to Basics, The Foxfire Book, and Mini-Farming: Self Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre. For pure entertainment almost any book will do but my favourites are the Outlander series, by Diana Gabaldon, the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, by J.R. Ward, and the In Death series by J.D. Robb. I like a series because they let get deeper into the characters than a stand-alone book would.

So what is on your bedside table at the moment? An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon, A Lick of Frost by Laurell K. Hamilton, and Building Green by Clarke Snell and Tim Callahan. Yes, I'm one of those crazy people who have multiple books going at once.

That is me too Renee. I have trouble getting in and out of bed because I have to navigate my way around my big pile! 

What are your biggest passions? My husband, my children, my family. I'm also passionate about real food, growing it, cooking it, eating it, and making people understand that it's vitally important to know what you're eating and how it's going to affect you in the future.

Your hopes and dreams? I hope my children grow up to be exceptional people. I see their potential and I'm so excited to see who and what they will become. 

 I dream of, one day, being able to produce all of our own food here on our dream property.

 I hope I see the day that society realizes that it's not important what you have, it's important WHO you are.

What can we learn from you? What can you learn from me? That you can do more than you ever thought possible. I never thought I would be milking a goat, or canning tomatoes, or starting 600 vegetable plants from seed, but I did all of those things this year. Open your mind to the possibilities and see what happens.

That is a big encouragement to me Renee - I am a simple liver without a productive garden and I would love to do more in that area. Sometimes it just seems beyond me. 

What would you say your biggest challenge is?  My biggest challenge right now is letting go of my negativity. I so often feel like I'm the only one who sees how out of whack the world is. I need to remember that there are others who understand and are doing something to change things.

You are not alone!  I suspect this might be why you like The Simply Living Challenge, Renee - and the simple living community in general. Am I right? Yes! It connects me with like-minded people. We may not agree on everything, but we agree that change needs to happen and we're all working on it in our own way. It's so refreshing to talk to people who care about more than the latest TV show, or the hottest new trend, or the latest celebrity scandal. I get so many great ideas from so many people in so many places. 

How can we support you? Listen, share ideas, plant a garden, be the change you want to see in the world and it will be a better place for everyone.

What a beautiful way to end the interview. Thank you Renee. You have been such a source of ideas and encouragement. So true of you! 


Renee has a blog - http://mamachickensays.blogspot.com.au/

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As always I encourage you to leave comments and to keep the conversation going. And if you haven't subscribed to the blog you might like to. One of my hopes and desires is to see a vibrant simple living community grow here in blogger land.  

Peace and all good my friends,

Asta x

https://www.facebook.com/thesimplylivingchallenge