I think it was Rumi that said...
'If you don't go over the hill'
'you will never know what's in the valley.'
Living in a concrete jungle, it made me depressed
because I started living past myself.
The balance was no longer there.
It was more about I have to work Monday to Sunday
to make ends meet.
I didn't want to raise my kids in an environment
where they would be influenced by materialism and consumerism.
I needed a change of environment...
not only for myself but for my family as well.
I think being a single mom and to bring up the girls
on my own in the city was quite daunting.
I found that I was constantly angry and cross.
And the more I tried to make ends meet, the worse it would be.
So coming here and being here with them
it was more about giving them an opportunity to actually connect
with something that is real and that is tangible.
Something that would actually add value to their lives.
A life that has purpose...
that gives you a feeling...
that makes you alive.
In most circumstances in the city, kids grow up
and they are deprived of a childhood... a true childhood.
I wanted them to be more in contact with nature
and experience the elements more openly.
I wanted them to still play with sticks
and experience life.
Still running barefoot.
It's about taking your shoes off
and taking a walk in that mountain stream.
I think anything is an adventure when you've got little ones.
Playing in that muddy puddle there
is an adventure for my two.
They're just so open wide and so full of potential.
Out here my kids can climb a tree
go swing somewhere.
I recognise that they're not going to appreciate it now...
they're young.
But they will appreciate it one day.
We don't have a television at home
and we're cool with that.
We've replaced it with discussion
and books and just your daily experiences.
Out here I started to appreciate the simple things.
Creating a memory... for me that's what it's all about.
And it's a quiet life, it's gentle.
We can lie in the bath at night and watch the stars.
Being grounded with earth and I suppose the space.
It just made sense.
We go in cycles and follow phases.
When it's summer then we play.
When it's winter we work, we study, we learn.
Every single day is a miracle.
Every single day there is something to be grateful for.
I think a lot of people miss these moments
to be a part of their learning and their journey.
They are learning to be kind and gentle and patient.
Here we have to... we wait for things to come to us
and not always actively going to seek and going to find things
and to make things happen.
We wait for them you know.
If you're patient then things come...
the right things.
And just watching them blossoming.
It's like they're little seeds and now they're growing.
And it's nurturing that and
allowing them to grow in which ever way they want.
The things I try and tell the kids is
to be kind and not to have too much of anything.
And just to be good to people.
They make their own way.
They make their own life and moods.
And it's kind of giving them the space to just be
and giving them the boundaries
and the love and the chance to just be themselves.
You look like you loved that.
I did.
Once they leave their childhood
and my parental supervision ends
then I'd love for them to experience the world
and go out there and find their meaning, find their purpose.
But at least I could have somehow
provided them with an opportunity to be more true
more in contact with themselves
and know who they are.
I really hope that my kids, looking back on this,
have really happy memories
in places that they remember and are magical for them.
I really hope that it gives them
really great memories of their childhood.
If I look at the way we used to live vs how we live now
the comparisons are easy and I know that it was a choice worth making.
I don't know how to explain this really.
You can see the peace in her... that smile.
You can see that she's enjoying it here.
I'm enjoying it here.
You can't explain it.
I never knew that this kind of a life existed...
not even remotely.
It makes me think of that Aladdin song,
'A Whole New World'.
I can't go back to where I used to be.
It's just a way of being, it's just a choice.
And it's the relationships that you form now, today,
with the people that are closest to you.
That's what means something.
To all of you who have contributed
for those of you who have shared our films
for those of you who have written out comments
this journey is just beginning.
And we've put a Patreon link below our films
so if you'd like to continue to support us
we'd love for you to donate below. Thanks so much.