The Gentle Art of Hunkering

Article Tools

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

Longhairs, gentle people, back-to-the-earthers ... whatever name we go by, we're all going to make it in our venture with the land in proportion to our practical and psychological readiness, plus our ability to learn as we go along.

And, I conjecture, some of us will fail because we don't know how to hunker ... and never find out.

On one level, hunkering is the squatting-on-the-haunches posture assumed by many country folk outdoors, especially when there's something serious to discuss or ponder. In The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck describes the position like this:

. . . and then he squatted down in the dust and found a stick to draw with. One foot was flat tothe ground, the other rested on the ball and slightly back, so that one knee was higher than the other. Left forearm rested on the lower, left, knee; the right elbow on the right knee, and the right fist cupped for the chin ...

But the art of hunkering goes far beyond physical posture to encompass tact, sensitivity and all the other aspects of effective communication between human beings. I use the word to mean the whole process of relating to other people, especially to those whose values are not one's own. And I believe that mastering this skill just might be the key to success in your particular corner of the Gentle Revolution.

Obviously, the suggestions I offer here are meant basically for those who are living in the country for the first time and trying to make a go of homesteading with a little book learning and a lot of grit. But I think that the principles of hunkering will help anyone who's working to create his own lifestyle in a community of strangers ... whatever the setting may be.

Then again, why should you go out of your way to communicate ... particularly with people whose ways are radically different from your own? Well, there are solid philosophical reasons having to do with understanding other points of view, respecting such beliefs and enriching your own life thereby ... but let's stick with the pragmatics of the situation.

Say you need to know how to hitch up a team, when to plant strawberries, how deep to sink a fence post-hole, or the answer to any one of a thousand other day-to-day questions. No amount of reading and research is going to provide all the information you need, and even MOTHER can't help you when the problem involves the peculiarities of a given county, township or 20-acre field. So, if you're going to succeed on your own special bit of land, you need on-the-spot aid and advice ... and what better source is there than your neighbor, who likely met up with and solved the same problem 40 years ago?

OK, you're willing to ask for assistance. That's half the battle, but only half ... because that man up the road is not an automated teaching device but a human being. If he likes you, he'll lend you a hand. But if he thinks you're nothing but a longhaired hippie weirdo (who's running down property values just by being around and should have stayed where you came from), he won't lift a finger for you.

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print