Photographs were a rare luxury in In the early days of the great American land grabs. Whole families would pack up and head west, put down stakes and build up something to live under. Lots of light was needed to expose the large photo plates of the day so family portraits were often done outdoors. I once saw a photo of a pioneer family striking their pose standing in front of all their earthly possessions; a dresser, chairs, dishes, tools and livestock spread out wide to anchor uprooted pilgrims to new soil.
Having been raised in the plastic convenience of this modern age, I like to imagine that this portrait came about because "things" back then were hand made, passed down from parent to child and extremely difficult to transport. You had to choose carefully what was worth keeping and what was worth carrying. It would be wonderfully romantic to think that this family gathering was made more joyful because of the cutting-edge photo tech involved. But then I remember that no matter how splendid the digital camera and studio setting is today, family photos usually involve fussy kids, frustrated parents and a nagging sense of diminishing return as the sitting wears on. I can't imagine it was any more fun to move all your belongings out of your house onto the plain that was your yard, don your finest clothes and try to get all the kids not to smile (the fashion of the day).
The photo was staged so brazenly, set up like a short biography of people who believed they were discovering new stories in an untold land. I like to think that this pioneer family was wrapped up in the founding of America's conspicuous consumption, right as it was taking root; born of immigrants scraping their lives from the soil, surrounded by lonely expanses in a new nation with land to spare. With all their things in that wide grass field, the photo testifies that these rugged settlers once acquainted themselves with Germanic cabinet makers, Parisian dress sellers and modern convenience.
We have not left all behind for the promise of a new land. Instead, we've rented out our house, stored our car, sold most of our belongings and kept a 74 square foot storage space holding tools, artwork, kitchen goods, necessary furniture and a piano. What surrounds us in this photos are all the things we will carry on our backs or pull behind us for a year through Central America.
At the start, we imagined using a large shipping container to move. We would fill it up with all our material comforts, and reassemble our cozy nest in a new tree. But that was not for us. We had never been to Costa Rica, Nicaragua or Panama. What if we were not safe and had to leave quickly? What if we didn't like where we were renting? What if we couldn't find the opportunity we hoped for where we were staying? The cost of securing and shifting an overstuffed nest was much more than we could responsibly undertake. We realized renting furnished apartments and bringing only what we could carry would free us to move when and where we needed.
We hope the things we've chosen will help us in our daily MESS - Music, Exercise, Spanish and Spirituality.
Thus begins the refocus of our lives on experiences rather than things.
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