Less is more!
At camp, we do without electricity, clocks and mirrors and we largely do without a set program. How did this come about and how has it proven its value?
When we started ROOTS Camp in about the year 2000, the internet was still somewhat exotic and the smartphone was far from being found in every pocket.
I simply didn’t want electricity in the camp. I thought: “If we had electricity it wouldn’t take long before we had electric lights, refrigerators, a loud radio and maybe soon even a hair dryer. Then we’d start listening to the news and we would no longer be any different from any regular camp site.
It is obvious that we cannot stop the world by doing without electricity, change it or even make it “better”. But we can learn that life works without it, and that it works very well without it. We create freedom and room for experiences that do us good. Serene and simple EXISTENCE. Breathe out, breathe in, silence …
When we restart our digital lives after camp, we may be able to do it a little more consciously. We’ll probably become a little stingier with our time and availability. We will be able to simply reassess the digital world.
Without Electricity
Pulling the plug also means: no electrical cooling, no stove, no oven and no kettle. It means collecting wood, making a fire and cooking on it. Only completely safe and unproblematic food that can be kept unrefrigerated goes into the pot. By the way, this results in light, mainly vegetarian, regional and seasonal food. Grains, pasta, pulses, salads, raw vegetables, vegetables, soups, bread, hard cheese, tea, honey and lots of fruit.
In the end, “offline” does not only mean no electric light but a change in daily rhythm. It means seize the day and rest at night!
Without Clocks
This means getting up when it gets light and going to sleep when the sun goes down. It means eating when we are hungry, resting when we are tired, and playing when we want to. We have no time restraints and are once again orientating ourselves entirely to our needs.
Without Mirrors
This means that our appearance is forgotten for a few days. It means being yourself and not who you’d like to be – beautiful, desirable, fitting in.
Without Entertainment
This means that there is no one person who is responsible for fun. It is personal responsibility that counts. No entertainment means doing things yourself. In the daily speaking session, we decide together what has to be done and what we want to do.
There will always be enough time to carve, build, do pottery or paint, explore the forest, climb, research or be amazed, or just to hang out and let time pass by.
Declaration by Jürgen
I, Jürgen Schneider, would like to make one thing clear here: “I also live in this mobile phone world, surf the net, watch soaps and eat non-organic hamburgers. My favourite series is “House of Cards” and I read the newspaper online every day.
My partner sometimes has to drag me away from my computer and I drive the car a lot. I don’t go barefoot all year round. After all, I don’t live in a yurt and I am a committed “warm showerer” (what else?) I am not tougher, more ascetic or more enlightened than anyone else.
Even the ROOTS Camp is advertised on the Internet and can be booked online – I believe that we can’t turn back time in any case and that this modern life is our life.
The question I ask myself and you is simply: “Am I a user or am I a slave? Do I have choices and have I ever thought about it?”
Thoughtfully yours…