The Intersphere

I am always amazed by the opportunities that are actually available to each of us, yet many would never
even be discovered, at least certainly not by me, without the the use of the marvelous "intersphere"!
This evening I discovered this site:  http://wwoof.org/ ,   which lead to another site, http://www.wwoof.at/de/hoefe/vorarlberg-9.html , which then led to this additional site:  http://www.wwoofcostarica.org/.  
Essentially, this type of live-work situation could provide me with an opportunity to receive hands on education regarding organic & sustainable farming, and even perhaps further education in Permaculture & alternative energy and building, without having to spend hardly any money whatsoever.
This is beautiful.
I have to take another look at these sites and then contemplate if perhaps I'd be willing to do some intense work this Spring in order to educate myself in these areas.
I have posed the question, "what is most important to me?", and clearly I cannot only come up with one answer.  Many things are deeply important to me including my marriage and my relationships in general, my health and my ability to receive appropriate physical therapy with the hope of healing my foot, and then of course there's my desire to live my life in accordance with my ideals.  But what exactly does that mean, and is that even something that is 100% achievable for a person living within a modern, N. American or Central European society?
The thing that I need to remember is that I am and will always be a human being, flawed and always somewhat discordant with my own ultimate standard of perfection. I just need to accept that to begin with so that I can allow myself to figure out how I can best live my life in balance.  I know that I can give more, and I need to find a path of giving that also fills me up.
The fact that I am a human being should in no way discourage me from trying.  The ideals shouldn't be used to judge of punish myself for my imperfections.
Enough about ideals. This is just silly.
What do I value most?
Since I was 16 years old, I have been an avid supporter of sustainable &/or organic and ecologically-minded farms.  Food is a fundamental aspect of Life, and the manner in which food is cultivated, grown, harvested, and dispersed has an enormous impact on the environment, on the health of our communities, and on the health of individuals within our communities.  I might get into the nitty gritty details down the road, but suffice to say that this has been one of my passions in Life.  Furthermore, food that is grown with the highest level of integrity is the best tasting and the most nutritious food for one's body.  The best restaurants in every city that I've been to have used the highest quality, natural, locally produced, fresh ingredients in their cooking.
I love the feeling of supporting a local, independently owned restaurant whom I know supports local, sustainable, & ecologically friendly farms.  The food is then as fresh as possible, it's generally exactly the kind of food one ought to ingest during that particular season, the energy and resources to transport the food to the public is conserved, and the money that is spent stays within one's local community.  The farmers that I am supporting obviously care deeply about their local environment and also about their local communities.
Again, this is beautiful.
It makes so much sense to me that I should learn how to become more self-sufficient in this regard, and I would like to do so in a way that is in harmony with the environment in which I'm living.
I've actually already purchased books on Permaculture and on organic farming/gardening practices.
But in truth, I think I'm more of a hands on learner. I have very little gardening experience, though I once did
have an organic garden when I lived in Marin County. But the soil on my property was mostly silt, and that type of soil didn't readily allow my plants to grow very large.  I was able to successfully grow organic tomatoes, lettuces, some berries, and a slew of other vegetables.  The lettuces grew the best.  Everything else
seemed a bit small.
I'm going to go ahead and sleep on this and continue to process tomorrow.
Goodnight.