The gathering, and a 'response partner' skype meeting with another apprentice (Barry) has put me in a reflective mood. I've done a lot of thinking, a lot of writing, and I've read the whole of the diploma handbook again. I was going to write in detail about the gathering, and I might well do that later, but for now I want to ponder the four questions.
Peer support
I gained so much energy from the gathering, although I was quieter than previous years, maybe because I arrived so long after everyone else and missed a lot of the workshops. I love talking to people about their plans over dinner and in the pub. Barry told me he'd heard someone talk about setting up a 'response partnership', a peer pair arrangement where each person shares a design and the others give feedback. We arranged a time to do this over Skype, and it was such a positive process we've arranged to catch up again in January.
The diploma!
I've talked with a few people now about the length of time it takes to do the diploma, and how I originally planned to finish within two years. I was concerned I might be taking too long, dragging things out unnecessarily by wanting to save some of my designs for the new house. At the last gathering in February I decided to focus my designs on work I was already doing to feel a sense of achievement while waiting to move.
However, after a lot of thinking, I've changed my mind. I like the diploma process. I like the structure, the space to gather my thoughts, the meetings with other people. I like doing the diploma, and right now I don't feel any need to rush to the end. I have so many deadlines in working life, and rush so many things that are just good enough (but not as good as I'd like them to be) that it's actually a pleasure to be able to tinker with things until I think they're ready.
I will end at some point of course, but I do want the diploma to track the move to our new house.
Er...
I actually struggled to think of an answer to this. Things are going well! Our house move took a step back when our buyer lost their buyer a few weeks ago, but they have found a new one, and we're all just waiting for them to catch up. It's likely to be February before we move now, but that gives us chance to save, and also to start our new rural life in the spring. It'll be enough of a culture shock as it is without being snowed in.
I am currently tutorless, but right now that's ok. I've had all four tutorials that are included in the diploma fee, and a few more, and talked to another tutor about the possibility of visiting for a tutorial in the new year.
My conversations with Barry prompted me to return to my original vision for the diploma, back in 2014. In my original action learning pathway, I set out my vision for what I wanted to achieve through the diploma.
Myself: I want to be calm, relaxed and happy. I want to be a welcoming host to friends and strangers. I want to not be afraid to use my skills, to talk about what I do. I want to eat well and exercise to keep myself healthy. I want to be wise and take time to rest and rejuvenate.
Household, home and garden: I want to bring my actions more in line with my ethics, particularly around food. I want to be more self-reliant - to grow food, make clothes, repair household items, maintain my home. One day we may consider moving house. I'd like this diploma journey to bring us closer to making that decision.
Work and community: I enjoy my work, but right now it feels somewhat segregated from the other activities in my life. Ideally I'd like a 'patchwork life' where my income comes from multiple sources. I'd like to work closer to home, perhaps for a charity or social enterprise. I want to continue working on local voluntary projects near home.
Writing: I love to write, and I'd like to write regularly about what I learn as I move through the diploma journey.
In the process though, I've stopped doing so much exercise, stopped cooking so much, and stopped doing voluntary work. These were all necessary at the time, but it's good to be reminded of my original vision so I can bring those things back into my life.
I'm not sure about work. I have a different job now, full time, and I love it. It is close to home (although won't be when we move), and pays well. For now, I'm happy with it.
There are some things I feel I'm missing, and I sat in a cafe earlier in the week and thought about how I could fill those gaps.
I'm starting to create a plan for next year. I like structure (although I don't always stick to it), so I'm going to start the year with a series of intentions. Each month I would like to
- Preserve something (cheese, jam, beer)
- Read something (fiction and non-fiction)
- Have something specific to look forward to (theatre trip, piccolo workshop, nature drawing course)
- Take a day off work and go for a long walk (getting to know our new area)
- Write (I have three blogs - diploma, work and home - and would like to write more regularly on all of them)
In the more immediate future, here are my next achievable steps, identified during my response partnership meeting with Barry.
- Update my action learning pathway. I'm quite excited about this - going to use it as an excuse to have a little play with design format
- Re-subscribe to Permaculture Magazine
- Create a schedule of blog posts and plan for at least one a month here
- Think about how to bring nature and the seasons into my life a bit more. This may be as simple as a walk at the weekend, but at the minute I spend a lot of time inside and would rather spend more outside.
Back soon with some more pondering...