We’ve been getting some amazing weather patterns that bring a few days of plentiful precipitation and then some days of warm and glorious sunshine. The pond is full, the landscape is beginning to return to green as the strength of the sun starts to shine anew. During the darkest days of the year, very little growth happens as the low angle of the sun does not provide enough solar energy to coax plants upwards against the forces of gravity.
It is amazing how noticeable the shift is; we are just arriving at the point where things begin growing again, and the speed will increase over the weeks to come in rapid format like a time lapse video. The speed of the farmers will increase as well, moving from a slow and methodical winter pace to a hectic and often harried spring stomp. The rhythms of life are varied and each season has different needs, which makes healthy practice for the human participants.
Being able to alter the patterns and habits of our lives maintains a flexibility and willingness to change that is important for both professional and private lives. Avoiding dogmatic practices enables us to be pliant enough to roll with the punches, as difficult as they may be at times. We have seen many changes these last few years, requiring an adaptability that is difficult to achieve. Sometimes it feels like becoming a new creature, growing and changing as more knowledge and experience arrive with the changing of the seasons.
We are learning new patterns of work and methods for human connectivity, gathering unto ourselves the life experiences that are offered and making the best of them as we can. My father always says “when I stop learning, put me in a box” and this sentiment rings true for me. I am excited by the opportunities that life presents for connection and interaction, and I am grateful for the shared journey that involves so many amazing people!
I’ve been thinking a great deal about the concept of methodical work; I tend to be a flash-in-the-pan, move-it-along-fast, burn-like-newspaper kind of person. As I age along this journey of life, I am striving to learn to be more careful, and to take the time to do a job right instead of just trying to get it done as fast as possible to move on to the next project. There is a kernel of truth that lives in the acceptance of work done right, a representation of Presence in action. Striving and seeking the next job or accomplishment without doing proper justice to the one at hand seems to me an expression of ego, thirsting for the next thing to cross off the list.
It has been a good winter thus far for taking this lesson to heart, and the farm is beginning to show it in better organization that will prepare us for the season to come. My tool shed is clean with a place for everything and everything in its place. I am delighted by the sense of order that is derived in my mental space by having clean physical space. It has been a slow process, but the building of our small barn has given us the storage capacity to make things neat and clear, instead of jumbled on top of each other.
As always, we are glad to share the journey, forward we go into the lessons of life with joy and an open heart!