​By: Misty Murph'Ariens

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When I was little, I was often asked , 'What do you want to be when you grow up?' They meant, 'A doctor, a lawyer, a baker, a teacher?' I understood this as a child and at the time I might have answered , 'An archeologist,' or 'A chef.' They didn't ask, 'What do you want to do to earn money?' What do you want to Be?  I was just thinking back to those times and I think, from my perspective now, I should have said, 'Happy.' 'Healthy.' 'Brilliant.' 'Loved.'.  Why didn't I? As modern North Americans, it seems we hold in our minds(at least) two definitions for the word 'be'.  The first is simple.  To be.  What you are, what defines you.  Be happy, be good.  The second definition stems from the first and is an example of one of those cultural colloquialisms I was talking about in my last article.  To be is also what you are to society, and what defines you as a member of that society.  If you are part of a consumer society, it makes sense that what you are, what defines you, is the way you interact with consumerism—how you make money.  (Also a fun phrase from our times, 'make money'. Think about it.)  If you were part of a society of artists, you might be defined as painter, sculptor.  I think about this because every time I meet someone new, they invariably ask, 'So, what do you do?'.  Running through my head is, 'paint, sew, build houses, bake,  milk a cow, play with pigs...'.  I know what they mean, but sometimes its hard to resist answering, “It depends on the day,” or “Whatever I want!”.  I might say, “Cater,” and this satisfies the question, but gives the impression that I run about every day filling platters up with party food.  I don't like to mislead anyone, so I usually say, “I'm a homesteader”.  As one of my favourite musicians sings, I “make a life, not a living.”.  Well, this answer typically precedes  dozens of other questions and the widening of eyes, followed by one of two things.  Either, 'Wow... thats amazing!  I would love to do that.' Or, 'But, how do you make money??'  I try, oh, how I try, to answer that last.      I say, 'Well, we dont really earn money very often.  We save most of what we earn because we grow food for ourselves, make our own clothes, and build things from the materials we find.'  Finally, with no other way to put it they ask, 'But...how do you live?'  I think to myself, 'it's easy, remember to breathe and occasionally eat something,'  but I just say, 'Very, very well.'  Alas, we are speaking two different languages, and my words don't make sense to them.