Touching Grass: Why I Gave Up My Homestead Dream

About this episode

Samantha reflects on her attraction to the homestead ideal and reconsiders living sustainably and attentively in her current environment.

What if the answer isn’t escaping modern life, but learning to inhabit it differently? In this season finale, Samantha reflects on her own attraction to the homestead ideal — and why she ultimately reconsidered what it means to live sustainably, faithfully, and attentively in the place God has already given her. This episode marks the beginning of a summer pause for Brave New Us and an invitation to continue the conversation through gardening, stewardship, and cultivation on YouTube. In this episode: The appeal and limits of the homestead dream Stewardship versus escape Gardening as an embodied spiritual practice An invitation to grow where you’re planted Summer Update: Brave New Us will return after a seasonal break. In the meantime, join Samantha on YouTube for garden stories, practical growing, and reflections on embodiment, limits, and care for creation. Buy the book: Grow Where You’re Planted: Reclaming Eden in Your Own Backyard YouTube

People in this episode

Host: Samantha N Stephenson

Topics covered

• homestead dream
• sustainability
• faith
• gardening
• stewardship
• spiritual practice

Keywords

• homesteading
• sustainability
• gardening
• spirituality
• stewardship
• faith
• modern life

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Grow Where You’re Planted: Reclaming Eden in Your Own Backyard