Random post

Here’s the thing. I’ve been talking recently about the trouble with my job. There’s so much going on and so much to concentrate on and so much change and everything is "fast and now" and it is very draining. I was talking with a co-worker the other day and she mentioned the rat race and how the world is moving so fast she’d just like to yell and tell everyone to slow down. This hit a nerve with me- in a good way. It made so much sense in an instant.

I think part of my problem is the speed of change. I really think that it has impacted me more than I know. The thing is, I think my “dream” of staying at home, growing much of our own food and simplifying greatly is very much tied to this dissatisfaction with my job and also maybe more importantly with the speed of things.

Plants only grow at one speed. The changes are not huge. It is simple, primal and basic. The rush comes at times of harvest and then there is the preservation. A garden takes a lot of work, but it is steady work. It isn’t that there are no worries with pests and frost and Mother Nature, in general, taking her role in things. I think the issue at large is that this kind of work is very real and extremely tangible. You work with soil and dirt, you feel the aches and pains from the work you do, and you see the success and the failure…and there are the seasons. Winter is time to relax and recharge and make plans for the following year. It is a chance to focus inward and to accomplish things you let slide or could get to through the busy fall and harvest months. Spring comes and you are able to get started again, fully recharged. And the start is slow and steady…hard work, yes, but plants don’t spring up from the ground fully formed and ready to harvest and preserve in one day. It is a process.
I think that is what I am missing. I am missing the process of, the cycle of, how things work. We have built the cycle up to happen so fast that there is no longer a cycle. There is no chance to get caught up. There is no chance to recharge and rejuvenate.