Poor Economy, Stress and Natural Places

THE STRESS, THE LIFESTYLE, THE MONEY OWING, THE PERILOUS FUTURE -

MUSKOKA AS WALDEN

BACK IN THE EARLY 1990'S, AS I'VE WRITTEN ABOUT MANY TIMES PREVIOUSLY, OUR YOUNG FAMILY HAD TO ENDURE THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE REAL ESTATE COLLAPSE OF THIS PERIOD'S LENGTHY RECESSION. WE HAD LOST AT LEAST TWENTY PERCENT OF THE VALUE OF OUR NEWLY PURCHASED HOUSE, AND THAT WAS JUST ON PAPER. IN REALITY, NO ONE WAS BUYING. REAL ESTATE SHARKS WERE HITTING AT BIG DEALS, BUT WE JUST COULD DROP OUR PRICE THAT LOW. THE MOST TRANSACTIONS, IN THOSE YEARS, WERE BANKS REPOSSESSING HOUSES WITH HEAVY MORTGAGES. ON TOP OF THAT, SUZANNE HAD BEEN INVOLVED IN A TRAFFIC ACCIDENT, ON MUSKOKA ROAD FOUR, IN BRACEBRIDGE, AND ALTHOUGH THE CAR SHOULD HAVE BEEN WRITTEN-OFF BECAUSE OF ITS AGE, THE ADJUSTOR AT THE TIME, DECIDED IT WAS REPAIRABLE. AS WE STILL OWED QUITE A BIT OF MONEY IT, AND HAD A LARGE MORTGAGE PAYMENT EVERY MONTH, WHEN WE GOT OR CAR BACK FROM THE SHOP, THE ALMOST MONTHLY RETURN TRIPS TO THE GARAGE, MAXED-OUT EVEN OUR CREDIT CARDS. YUP, I'D NEVER KNOWN STRESS LIKE THIS BEFORE. IT WAS GROWING AND NOTHING WE DID, SEEMED TO REDUCE THE DAY TO DAY FINANCIAL INTENSITY. OUR CORRECTIONS OFTEN ONLY MADE THINGS WORSE, AND SERIOUSLY REDUCED CASH LEFT FOR DAY TO DAY LIVING. FAMILY MEMBERS DIDN'T REALLY KNOW HOW BAD IT WAS, AND SOME THOUGHT WE GOT WHAT WE DESERVED, WHEN THEY DID FIND OUT BY INSIDER GOSSIP……AS IT WAS WRONGLY ASSUMED, WE HAD BEEN LIVING LIKE THE RICH AND FAMOUS. I SUPPOSE, IN SOME REGARDS, THEY WERE RIGHT. BUT THEN WE DIDN'T ASK FOR THEIR HELP, SO WE DIDN'T SEEK OUT THEIR CRITIQUES EITHER.

THERE WERE EFFICIENCY, COST SAVING MEASURES THAT STRIPPED A COUPLE OF JOBS, OUT OF THREE I WAS BALANCING, AND THE THIRD JOB WAS A WALL OF POLITICS I COULDN'T STAND ANY LONGER. THAT LEFT A SMALL ANTIQUE SHOP PARTNERSHIP, AND A GENERALLY LOW INCOME FROM THIS MAIN STREET BUSINESS ENTERPRISE. SUZANNE WAS STILL A FLEDGLING TEACHER, AND WE ALWAYS WORRIED ABOUT REDUNDANCIES EACH SPRING, WHEN ENROLLMENT NUMBERS STARTED TO MANIFEST FOR THE FOLLOWING SEPTEMBER. SHE COULD HAVE BEEN LAID-OFF, OR SENT TO A SCHOOL AT THE OTHER END OF THE DISTRICT. HAVING TWO SMALL KIDS, A BROKEN CAR (UNPAID FOR), A HOUSE THAT WAS WORTH LESS THAN WE HAD PAID FOR IT, THREE JOBS FALTERING IN A COUPLE OF MONTHS, AND WE WERE TAPPED-OUT WITH NOWHERE TO TURN…..GADS, COULD IT GET ANY WORSE? THERE WAS ONE PLACE TO TURN. IT WASN'T RELIGION.

I CAN REMEMBER COMING HOME AFTER WORK, ABSOLUTELY DRAINED FROM THE DAY'S WORRY. NOT THE WORK. THE WORK WAS EASY AND FOR THE MOST PART ENJOYABLE. I WAS WORKING IN THE ANTIQUE FIELD, AND FULFILLING A DREAM TO BE IMMERSED IN HISTORY. I WAS ALSO WRITING CONSTANTLY, AND AS BUSINESS WAS PRETTY SLOW THEN, I WAS ABLE TO WRITE NUMEROUS MANUSCRIPTS, AND COMMENCE A NUMBER OF HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL NEWSPAPER COLUMNS WHICH LASTED THROUGH THE DECADE. BUT THE LOW PROFIT MARGIN OF THE SHOP, DURING THE HEIGHT OF THE RECESSION, AND THE AMOUNT WE OWED MONTHLY, MEANT THERE WAS NOTHING TO BE OVERLY HAPPY ABOUT AT THE END OF EACH DAY.

AFTER DINNER, EVERY NIGHT, I'D WANDER OUT ON THE VERANDAH, OVERLOOKING BIRCH HOLLOW AND THE BOG, AND HANG OUT OVER THE RAIL, IN SERIOUS CONTEMPLATION ABOUT WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN TO US. ALTHOUGH WE NEVER ONCE MISSED A MORTGAGE PAYMENT, AND ALWAYS PAID OUR CAR LOAN REQUIREMENTS, WE HAD TO PURPOSELY DEFER PAYMENTS LIKE HYDRO, AND TAXES, AND EVEN THE CREDIT CARDS, JUST TO AFFORD FOOD AND GAS. WE LIVED IN GRAVENHURST BUT OUR BUSINESS WAS IN BRACEBRIDGE, AS WAS SUZANNE'S PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT. I CAN REMEMBER ONE NIGHT, AFTER A PARTICULARLY DEPRESSING DAY, ARRIVING UP OUR LANE, TO FIND A BRIGHTLY COLORED TAG ON OUR DOOR. IT SAID THAT, UNLESS HYDRO WAS PAID IN FULL, FOR WHAT WE OWED THEM, OUR HYDRO WOULD BE CUT-OFF WITHIN THE NEXT 48 HOURS. THAT WAS A NIGHT, I REALLY NEEDED TO HANG OVER THAT RAILING, AND LOOK DEEP INTO THE WOODLANDS FOR INSPIRATION. EVEN THEN, IT SEEMED LIKE A THIN OFFERING, BECAUSE I NEEDED A HEAPING AMOUNT TO OFFER EVEN A GLIMMER OF HOPE WE COULD RECOVER FROM OUR DEBT-LOAD.

THIS ISN'T A BLOG ABOUT HOW WE SURVIVED OUR OWN PERSONAL DEBT-CRISIS. IT'S ABOUT THE POSITIVE INFLUENCES MY PERSONAL WALDEN, HAS HAD ON ME, EVER SINCE THOSE DARK AND THREATENING DAYS. SOME TIMES, I WOULD DISAPPEAR FOUR OR FIVE TIMES A NIGHT, AND SUZANNE ALWAYS KNEW WHERE TO FIND ME. AS I HAD, AS A CHILD, I FOUND SOLACE AND INSPIRATION LOOKING OUT OVER THAT BEAUTIFUL LOWLAND, THROUGHOUT THE FOUR SEASONS. IF I'D BEEN STARING, INSTEAD, OUT OVER A SEA OF OTHER RESIDENCES, AND HEARD THE ROAR OF LAWNMOWERS, INSTEAD OF HEARING OWLS AND LOONS, I MIGHT NOT HAVE MADE IT THROUGH THIS UNFORTUNATE PERIOD OF POOR ECONOMY. I WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SEARCH IN THE HEART OF THIS THRIVING LOWLAND, AND FOUND THE MYRIAD OF WILDFLOWERS, AND AMAZING MUSHROOMS THAT PREVAILED UPON THE FOREST FLOOR. I WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO BENEFIT FROM LISTENING TO THE TINY, HIDDEN CATARACTS, THAT MADE SUCH A SOOTHING, GENTLE SOUND, THAT ALMOST HYPNOTIZED THE FEAR AND LOATHING FROM MY HEART. I COULD ARRIVE OUT ON THIS VERANDAH, FEELING AS IF MY LIFE WAS OVER, AND THAT THERE WAS NOTHING THAT COULD REPAIR THE DAMAGE DONE, AND WITHIN JUST A FEW MINUTES, THE SIGHT OF A HUMMINGBIRD AT A FEEDER, OR THE GLIMPSE OF A FOX TROTTING DOWN ONE OF THE WOODLAND PATHS, WOULD DEMONSTRATE THE TRUE IMPORTANCE OF EACH MOMENT OF EVERY DAY.

WHEN I THINK ABOUT THE TERRIBLE SITUATION, MANY YOUNG PEOPLE FIND THEMSELVES TODAY, IN THE STRANGULATING GRASP OF MORTGAGES, LINES OF CREDIT, AND CREDIT CARD BALANCES, I FEAR FOR THEIR FUTURE WELL BEING. WHEN WE BOUGHT OUR HOME, HERE IN SOUTH MUSKOKA, AND OPERATED LIKE THE WELL-TO-DO COUPLE WE WERE, BY INCOME AT LEAST, IT SIMPLY DIDN'T SEEM EVEN THE SLIGHTEST RISK, THAT A RECESSION COULD SO EASILY KNOCK US OFF OUR FEET. FROM LIVING THE GOOD LIFE, WITH LOTS OF RESOURCES FROM WHICH TO OPERATE MONTH TO MONTH, WE WALKED INTO THE VORTEX OF OUR OWN PERFECT STORM. THERE ARE MANY, MANY FOLKS, LIVING JUST LIKE WE DID, IN THOSE PRECARIOUS YEARS. ONE OR TWO MISFORTUNES OF ECONOMIC SECURITY, AND THE HOUSE OF CARDS COLLAPSES ON ITSELF. AND THERE WILL BE CASUALTIES. I HATE TO SEE THIS. BUT IT WILL HAPPEN, THAT REAL ESTATE VALUES WILL ADJUST, SOONER OR LATER, REGARDLESS WHAT SPARKS THE CHANGE OF PACE. THE CONSEQUENCES, I BELIEVE, WILL BE SEVERE, AND THE COLLATERAL DAMAGE, GRAVE. I KNOW OF NUMEROUS PEOPLE WHO TOOK THEIR OWN LIVES, RATHER THAN DECLARE BANKRUPTCY. THERE ARE ALL KINDS OF WARNINGS NOW, THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE IN 1989, SO CORRECTIVE MEASURES, TO SOME DEGREE, CAN BE TAKEN BY THOSE AT GREATEST FINANCIAL RISK. I HOPE THEY WILL TAKE THESE WARNINGS SERIOUSLY, OR THE LOSSES THEY WILL INCUR GENERALLY, WILL AFFECT EVERY ASPECT OF THEIR LIVES. NO ONE TOLD ME IT WOULD BE A DIRE CIRCUMSTANCE, BUT IT WAS. AND TRUTH BE KNOWN, THE ACTUAL AMOUNT OF MONEY WE OWED AT THE PEAK, AS COMPARED TO DEBT LOADS OF MORTGAGES TODAY, IS A FRACTION OF THE MODERN DAY DEBT REALITIES. FOR PEOPLE IN A PARALLEL CIRCUMSTANCE, AS WE WERE IN 1989-1990, THERE'S STILL TIME TO FIX THINGS UP.

I HAD THE WOODLANDS, HERE AT BIRCH HOLLOW. IT BECAME THE GREATEST SINGLE ASSET WE HAD, BUT AT THE TIME, SUZANNE WANTED FINANCIAL RELIEF, MORESO THAN EMOTIONAL, SPIRITUAL RESOLUTION. WE TALKED A LOT, ABOUT THE IDEA OF SELLING EVERYTHING WE OWNED, AND LIVING WITH LESS IN OUR LIVES. TO A CERTAIN DEGREE, WE COMPROMISED ON THIS, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME, TRYING TO MAKE THE BEST OF A HOME LIFE THAT HAD MANY ATTRIBUTES, INCLUDING ACCESS TO A THRIVING LITTLE URBAN HINTERLAND……WHICH OVER TIME, WAS OUR SAVING GRACE. WE TURNED TO NATURE AS AN OUTLET, AND IT EVEN LED US TO MANY LOW BUDGET CAMPING TRIPS, TO ALGONQUIN PARK….WHERE OTHERWISE, WE WOULD HAVE TRAVELLED TO FLORIDA, OR TO THE CITY, STAYING IN NICELY APPOINTED AND EXPENSIVE HOTELS. BEING IMMERSED IN THE WILDS RE-CHARGED OUR AMBITION TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS IN OUR LIVES. WE BEGAN ENJOYING OUR PROPERTY, AND AFTER FLIPPING SEVERAL HOMES IN THE PAST, DECIDED THIS WAS GOING TO BE OUR…..HOMESTEAD, FOREVER. IT WAS THIS PLACE, IN SOUTH MUSKOKA, THAT SAVED OUR LIVES. WE WOULD HAVE BEEN CAUGHT BY THE RECESSION THEN, REGARDLESS, NO MATTER WHERE WE RESIDED. IT WAS THAT START-UP TIME IN FAMILY LIFE, WHEN YOU WORK HARD AT SELF IMPROVEMENT. I CAN'T IMAGINE IT WOULD HAVE BEEN MUCH DIFFERENT IN MANY OTHER SCENARIOS. WE HAD TO BE TAUGHT ABOUT LIFE VALUES. IT HAD LESS AND LESS TO DO WITH MONEY, THE MORE WE LEARNED TO ENJOY THE IMMENSE POTENTIAL OF A HOUSE…..AS A HOME!

THIS HUMBLE LITTLE ABODE, ACROSS FROM A BEAUTIFUL LITTLE OASIS OF CAT-TAILS AND VENERABLE OLD PINES AND MAPLES, WITH ITS LOVELY WILDNESS, THE DEER, FOX, SQUIRRELS AND BIRDS…..THE ENCHANTMENTS I STILL FIND AS AN ADULT, THAT STILL INSPIRE ME….., CALM ME, ABOUT THE PERILS OF THE MODERN WORLD. NO, I DON'T KNOW HOW WE WOULD HAVE COPED, WITHOUT THIS HEALING ELEMENT TO OUR ENVIRONS, THAT TOOK STRESS AWAY…..LIKE THE CONSTANT CLEANSING OF THE LOWLAND, BY THE LITTLE CIRCULATORY CREEKS, HIDDEN UNDER THE MATTED GRASSES OF THE SUMMERS BEFORE…..THAT WE HEAR, WASHING OVER THE TINY CATARACTS, DOWN THE SLOPING LANDSCAPE TOWARD THE BEAUTIFUL LAKE GLISTENING BELOW. THIS IS MY CHERISHED RESPITE, EACH DAY, AND IT HAS SERVED ME WELL FOR ALL THESE YEARS……AS IT HAS FOR SO MANY OTHER RESIDENTS, WHO ENJOY THE EMBRACE OF NATURAL MUSKOKA, TO CALM THE TURMOILS OF WHAT PREVAILS UPON US, TO NAVIGATE YET ANOTHER DAY.

I CAN STILL BE SEEN ON OCCASION, SHOULD SOMEONE BE WATCHING, HANGING OUT OVER THE RAILING OF OUR VERANDAH, HERE AT BIRCH HOLLOW. CONNECTING TO WHAT I FIND SO AMAZING AND RESTORATIVE ABOUT LOWLAND SPACES, AND WOODLAND PATHWAYS, AND ALL THE REGENERATION THAT OCCURS WITHIN…..THAT RESTORES WHAT THE NEW SEASONS DEMANDS. I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN AT THE MERCY OF THE SEASONS. I WILLINGLY SUCCUMB TO ALL ITS INFLUENCES.

NATURE CAN BE AN AMAZING STRESS REDUCER…..IF YOU GIVE IT A CHANCE.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING THIS MORNING'S BLOG FROM BEAUTIFUL GRAVENHURST, ONTARIO, IN THE NATURAL EMBRACE OF SOUTH MUSKOKA.