Off the Grid

The following is an excerpt from another email I recently received.

"Also, there's a part of me that loves the idea of what the parents are trying to do. Live off the grid. Defy conformity. Be self-sufficient and tell the world to [go jump off a bridge]. But I've never had the nerve to follow through. Still, what happens to people who just can't fit in? What happens to people who can't do the 9 to 5 thing? Are they destined to live on a knife edge? Are they destined to become self-absorbed and self-destructive? The parents are so crazy and selfish, but I see some of their points. How many creature comforts do we really need? Does the security of a "normal" middle-class existence KILL the adventure of life?"

I included this because it raises a few things worth reflecting on. To start, what does happen to those of us who are uncomfortable with the 9-5 conventions of daily life. Is there a space in our society for those people to thrive? Does our society force round people into square holes?

What about this idea of living off the grid is that even possible anymore? What about it is so appealing? How can we harness those things about such an existence that ARE appealing and some how work them into otherwise conventional lives?