Welcome to the weekend coffee share. Can I get you a cup of coffee? I was thinking that this week we could do something different, an exercise of the mind of sorts. Have you ever thought about what you would do if money was not an issue? Do you know what you would do?

The short answer for me is: If money was not an issue I would do more of the things I am passionate about. If money was not an issue I would not stop working, I would just be able to work with an even greater intent and focus compared to now. However, I am not letting myself of this easy. I am giving you my long answer, if you’re interested that is, if not, just skip to the end of the post :)

Oh great! You are still here :) Sit back and relax, enjoy your coffee. I’ll tell you about three different scenarios of what I would do if money was not an issue for me. The first one is the loftiest one.

1. On a personal level I would purchase a small farm. A piece of land with a little house, perhaps with two bedrooms, a kitchen, living room and a big pantry. I see my future property inspired by permaculture design, and the center of the property being the main house. I would have a kitchen garden with herbs and every day crops close to the house. The root cellar where I store crops for the winter would also be located in the section closest to the house. I also see an art studio for my daughter close to the house. Next to the garden there would be a large greenhouse. Connected to the greenhouse there would be a country store selling organic produce and products from the farm, along with plants and seeds in the spring time. The store would have an area designated for teaching gardening classes. The greenhouse and country store would at certain times every week be open to the public, (but not the kitchen garden and the main house, they would always be just for family.) There would be different sitting areas and beautiful walking paths all around the store-green house, along with more “wild” areas where kids and dogs can play freely.

The 2nd section (viewed from the house) would be large vegetable gardens, the design of those would have to be determined by the actual location, around these gardens there would be berry bushes and different types of fruit trees. Not too close, but still close, there would be walking paths around these gardens, in between the berry bushes and the gardens. The walking paths would be wide and inviting for people to come and visit, and enjoy themselves while learning about gardening. It would be a park-like setting, but not overly manicured. On the outside of the berry bushes there would be another wide walking path, allowing for people to walk around and set up for easy access to the berry bushes come harvesting time. Outside of that walking path we would have the fruit trees.

At the 3rd section, in the outskirts of the property there would be a few guest cottages for people that attend my gardening workshops, or just staying there to enjoy the peaceful setting. When I hire seasonal workers they could also stay in these cottages.

At the 4th section, furthest away from the main house there would be horse pastures with a barn. Think free fertilizer, and excellent mental-health. In the workshops I would offer participants to hang out with the horses. I might offer one-on-one sessions with the horses for children with special needs. (Perhaps it would be rescue horses?) The whole property would be surrounded by forest, and be close to a lake. I would often welcome kindergarten age children and teach them about how to grow their own food. Teaching children about how to grow food is something I enjoy immensely, seeing them understand and enjoy the process of growing their own food is empowering, both for them, future generations, and myself. It is somewhat challenging, to fully teach them this trade and a sustainable way of life in a regular school setting, that is why I would love to do this at my farm. Perhaps I would do this as a part of research for teaching sustainability in kindergarten? This is what I would do if money was not an issue.

2. Or… another possible scenario if money was not an issue. Simply quitting my day job, and purchase a small farm where I do organic gardening at a smaller scale than in the example above. However, I think quitting my day job would be challenging since I love teaching, and the most realistic scenario is that I still would teach at least part time. Working part time, in combination with a small farm is a realistic scenario for me and likely doable in the future even if I had to consider money.

3. ……Or a third scenario if money was not an issue could be keeping my allotment garden, and a simple, happy life, like I have now. The difference being that I could teach within the frames of my choice, if I felt like it I could do only volunteer work. Teaching in a way I believe would give the greatest benefits. Don’t get me wrong, I think we have a wonderful kindergarten in Sweden, but I see on a daily basis that we (the teachers) could do so much more if we had a smaller group of children to teach. I see many areas that could be improved, and if money was not an issue I would dedicate more time to doing so. I would build my teaching around books and gardening, the kind of school I would have loved to attend myself as a kid (if you’d asked a younger me I would probably have told you that it needed to be some horses at the school as well).

I think it is a great exercise to think about what you would do if money was not an issue. I feel great about the fact that I would do more of what I am already doing. I have not always been able to answer the question in such a satisfying way. What would you do if money was not an issue? Have a refill of that coffee and tell me about it, if you feel like it you can write a post on the topic, and add the link in your comment.

Maria