I frequently experience “firsts” on the farm at school. Picking blackberries right from the vine yesterday was a first for me. Picking fruit and vegetables with any kind of informed intention is really the overall first for me. I have, obviously, eaten fruit and vegetables my entire life; however, being the one to make the decision whether it is ready to be plucked from the plant or left to continue to grow is a completely new experience.
Eating healthy is something most of us try to do, but the decision making related to that is mostly limited to choosing whole food over processed and boxed foodish things. Imagine if eating healthy meant you had to find things that were eatable and safe to consume before deciding if it was the right time to collect it. And imagine that you had to do that every time you ate anything. Imagine living in a world with no stores; instead, you had only the things you made, were given, or found. Imagine having to survive in a world were natural things dominated the landscape, and you felt like only an equal resident to the other animals foraging for survival.
I think many have a nostalgic view of this type of living, but it is ultimately a very difficult path. The constant seeking, preparing, and protecting of food may seem like an ideal way to live, but it reduces one’s life to survival mode. While in that cycle of living, there is very little (if any) time for any activities not directly related to survival. This level of existence is made easier by banding together with others, but then there are always increased complexities when multiple people are sharing resources. And on, and on, the trail leads back to modern life and how we have disconnected ourselves from the land out of a desire for the things of modern life only to reach a point of nostalgic longing for the survival life we gave up to have these modern opportunities.
I’m sure there can be some type of balance between a modern life surrounded by the artificial constructs of humans and the completely natural environment demanding constant survival vigilance. In many ways, I think farming offers that balanced middle point.
Farming is giving me the chance to reconnect with the natural world in a profound way. I am beginning to look at plants with a knowing eye. I’m beginning to see the rhythms of growing and nurturing that move us along the cycle of life. I’m beginning to be able to decide if a food is ready to be plucked from the plant or not. It is through this knowledge and these experiences that I am finding what I believe Chris McCandless was looking for on that bus: freedom.
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