How Important Is Owning Land To You in This Economy?

YOU DON'T NEED TO BE A FARMER OR DEVELOPER TO OWN LAND!

You Just Need to Be Mindful of the Times That We're Living in the 21st Century!

by Miriam G. Aw

Imagine growing and picking your own fruit trees, vegetables, herbs, and medicinal plants on your own land - free of pesticides, and not worrying about other hands touching the food you eat!

Somehow, the importance of owning land has devalued so much that the idea of mentioning to someone about purchasing land, especially to city or urban dwellers, is looked upon as if you said a 'dirty word!'

Whatever happened to the notion of wanting to own land to build, or place their home, grow their own food, or perhaps leaving a piece of legacy behind for the next generation to use by keeping the tradition of being 'land owners?'

Despite our present economy, it would behoove families to get together, and combine their financial resources to purchase land for the reasons I've noted above. Although such a thought of doing so may leave some relatives with a bad taste in their mouth due to bad relationshps among each other, or possibly harboring past resentments, which are usually the case, it should not deter you from entertaining the idea of land ownership for future use. After all, if you're not ready to do anything with the land at the present time, at least you will know that you have it, and can do something positive at a later time.

There is no disputing the fact that predatory mortgage lending is the chief reason for the increasing home foreclosures that permeates throughout America. The idea of purchasing more house than one can afford is one of the main problems to the home foreclosure epidemic.

As far as I am concerned, the idea of having the largest kitchen, living room, dining room, bedroom, or having a swimming pool, tennis court, or merely wanting to impress others with what I have did not, and does not make me moist by any stretch of the imagine! I don't care to impress anyone else. I don't try to keep up with the Jones's!

To some degree, this train of thought is why so many homes are foreclosed, and sadly, it was due to people being 'conditioned,' or 'brainwashed' into believing that "more was better than less," and "certain neighborhoods" was better than some other neighborhoods, therefore, the more you pay, the more "other people" cannot pay, thus 'keeping them out' from living in their neighborhood! Sound familiar?

And as a result of this type of brainwashing mentality caused by greedy manipulative (and in most cases, bigoted) deceitful mortgage lenders, the effect of its cause worked . . . BIG TIME, and the people who believed they were exempt from being hoodwinked by these scoundrels find themselves victimized to a snare that they believed was not meant for them, but instead, echoed what has been said by others, and have been going on all along, but this time, it is them, the so-called 'Middle Class,' who have been suckered into the scam of the Century!

Instead of valuing and owning land as the prudent investment it should be, the value of owning more house than anyone can really afford was pushed harder. In other words, your sense of worth is based on how big a house you have, and not based on how fertile your land is in order to grow your own food! What a sad commentary, however, it's true.

So, what will you do? How much value do you place in owning your land in these uncertain economic times in the 21st Century? How much will you sacrifice in order to have 'peace-of-mind' in a time that is basically 'fated,' or 'destined' to get much worse than getting better?

I, for one, am a native New Yorker from the Bronx. I grew up in an area that had nothing but a lot of trees, and my immediate neighbor was a field. And believe me, as a former hayfever sufferer in my childhood, it wasn't pretty, to say the least. But things change. We get older, wiser, and for most, we become more appreciative of what has been bestowed unto us by a Higher Power than ourselves.

Our ignorance of what we do not know elevates to becoming more knowledgable of what we do now know, which is the same as graduating from high school, or college, after attending all of the previous grades to get to where we are in the present.

Big houses do not impress me, but land, oh baby! Why? Because whether it's a quartered-acre, half-an-acre, a lot, 2 acres, or more, I see it as an invaluable asset in any economic situation. Unfortunately, not many people see it this way.

Take the state of South Carolina, for example. I've lived here for a little over 15 years, and I see, first hand, a lot of disrespect, or lack-of-respect and appreciation for the land they currently own with fruit trees, for example. I know first hand how difficult it is to merely mow the grass when your lawn mower is inoperable. The longer your mower is out of commission, the higher the grass will surge upward looking like you live in Jurassic Park, but without the dinosaurs! Especially after days or weeks of down pouring rain. Hell, let it grow! It'll get mowed eventually. After all, the act of kindness of neighbors lending their push or riding mower is not an option where I live. I will simply wait until the months of October or November when everything begins to dry out, and grow much slowly. Perhaps by that time, my mower will be in full operation. But I digress.

Essentially what I am speaking about is when I see a multitude of land owners who have fruit trees growing in abundance: Apple trees, pear trees, peach trees, etc., and are not eating the fruits the tree(s) bear on an annual basis! It's criminal, and its selfish, to say the least. Many of these individuals would rather let their fruit rot than giving it away, eat it for self-consumption, sell it, or at best, donate it to a food shelter, or pantry for public use. But I'll speak about this later on.

In today's society, there are myriads of "man-made" genetically grown fruits and vegetables being manufactured that are sold to the public consumers. Plenty of these fruits that are known to have 'seeds' are "seedless!" I purchased a bag of oranges about two years ago. Immediately, I noticed the thickness of the skin, and the color of the oranges - but like many, I disregarded it, and went about my business at hand in my quest to shop for food. When I got home, I had a taste for an orange, or two. Much to my dismay, when I cut an orange in half, I noticed something strange. There were no seeds! NO SEEDS! I immediately realized that the orange was genetically altered - manufactured - chemically maligned - doctored, hell call it anything you want - this orange was not grown "Naturally!" Plain and simple.

Although I admire the efforts of the numerous associations affiliated in helping to feed the hungry people in our country by mass producing food for public consumption, the crux of the matter is that this way of going about it is not healthy, nor is it natural.

Which is why it is so important to take full advantage of what we already have on our land, in our neighborhood markets, or what is placed in our neighbor's land, who may not mind if you ask them for their fruits, and/or vegetables. Now, getting back to my original point made earlier about how some people would rather see their fruits rot than to donate it to a food shelter. I realize that sometimes some folks may decide to become greedy, or selfish, once you approach them about their fruit trees when all along they have just allowed it to fall and rot on a regular basis. Then they'll decide to charge you outrageous cost for their fruits, or perhaps simply say 'no.' And many of these people call themselves 'Christians!' Or at best, claim to 'Know God.' Well, I've got news for people like this, they don't know God, because if they did, their actions would have been different.

People like that you leave alone - leave them to their own misery. Leave them in their own miserable life choosing to be ungodly in their act. Fortunately, however, there are some folks who will not mind allowing you to gather some fallen fruit from their tree(s). This is a charitable act. It is an act of being godly in their actions. Especially when he or she knows that someone can benefit from the fruit when they no longer have interest in harveting the fruits, or perhaps have enough fruit stored already in their arsenal.

In either case, this is why it is so imporant to begin thinking about land ownership in a different light. In order to beat the present and future economic woes, we must first begin to realize some basic principles of survival at all cost. It is not enough to gauge at looking at a house with the grandest amount of square footage in the prospective home. We are beyond that point. It is now about how much of the land can you grow the necessities of food in order to consume when times do get tougher in the days, weeks, months, or years ahead? That's the question. Do you have the answer?

You can beat any economic woe in the 21st Century if you decide to plan ahead with your family, congregation, community neighbors, other relatives, friends, etc., and begin to strategize on the numerous possibilities of possibly experiencing food shortages, food recall, contamination, or detrimental actions taken on by domestic & international terrorists, who don't give a damn one way or the other about anyone's lives whenever they decide to taint the country's food supply to fulfill their agenda.

But looking at it in a more pleasant sphere, just imagine having your own land filled with trees, and/or shrubs of apples, blackberries, strawberries, pears, plums, oranges, lemons, grapefruits, peaches, chestnuts, pecans, etc., right there at your finger tips, so that you, and your family, relatives, neighbors, congregation, etc., can enjoy to promote wellness of good health for one and all.

Whenever the children ask for candy, simply direct them to a fruit tree, and let them go wild! And if you have health issues, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol, gout, or if you are obese, have cataracts, or if you're experiencing any health issue, these reasons alone is why you should have your own land to grow fruit tree(s) and shrubs, vegetable garden with herbs, and medicinal plants, which can be, and will be an additional blessing in the long run.

So while most of the country is talking about the health care issue, race relations, outbursts and rude behavior from idiot politicians, celebrities, and the ilk, home foreclosures, unemployment, and much more, and right so I might add, we must not take our eyes off the prize by blinded media coverage on topics and issues that are, in most cases, intended for us to deflect away from having personal goals being set for future endurance of survival. While the hate-mongers continue to berate a Black U.S. President, and while the entertainment industry's quest is to do just that . . . entertain us when their huge amount of checks are imploding within their pockets and banks, and while pious individuals continue to promote how self-righteous they are regarding morals, values when they themselves are doing the opposite - it is time to focus, and get back to the issue at hand.

And the bottom line of the issue is that no matter where you live in this great big land called The United States of America, you can own land in the city, suburbia, or rural areas in any given state you choose to live in, whether it is in the regions of the Northeast, Southeast, Westcoast, or in the Midwest. What you have to decide is how much are you and your family are willing to sacrifice to make such a generational commitment toward your legacy?

YOU CAN BEAT THE ECONOMY AS A FAMILY, UNITED!

I'll leave this brief poem for you to ponder on:

"Be fruitful in what you plant & grow

above the ground, or down below.

Stay healthy with what you reap,

and sow when needed, before you sleep.

The foods you grow may not, at first, be plentiful,

but the bounty of love you put in is unmeasurable.

So take heed to the times

and remain enthusiastic.

If you don't believe in what I say,

read the Bible - "Ecclesiastes!"

There's a time and place for everything,

and everything has its Season.

You may believe it's all about the 'bling,'

but I assure you that there is another reason

for why I decide to impart my concern

without adding any mystery

to what I say, or do, in return

because all will become evident in the early 21st Century!"

written by Miriam G. Aw, book author & 'Date of Birth' Reader.

Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.

Recommended Book:

"How To Look Good Using Food Stamps: Beautify Yourself with the Foods You Buy At The Market!" by Miriam G. Aw.

Health care issues begin at home. Learn how some of the foods you buy (with, or without, using food stamps) at the market can beautify you without the use of expensive cosmetics, and feel well by eating nutritiously. Receive & achieve betterment in quality of life by doing BOTH whenever you do your food shopping!

For this book, and other books by Miriam G. Aw, go to www.lulu.com

Twitter Miriam - www.twitter.com/birthdatereader