How are we going to make it through this time? I don’t have any hot takes or tips and tricks about how we move through this time of political and climate chaos but I do want to share a story with you…
I asked a friend the other day how he was doing and his answer surprised me. He said he was feeling capable of living in this time. He had just returned from being with friends and family in California and he felt resourced by his community therefore strong and ready to take on the world. This response was illuminating for me. I was feeling overly inundated with news, Instagram, and spending too much time inside at the computer. I was not talking to people or sharing meals or reaching out. And I was feeling hopeless, confused, frustrated and scared. I knew something had to change. Resourced and capable were not words I’d use to describe how I was feeling. I knew I had to shift.
Ever since this conversation I’ve been reflecting on the things I do or want to do to feel more resourced in order to face this moment with strength and clarity. I know I am a person who will resist the authoritarian path this country is taking. I don’t know how or when or what but I do know that I am a person who shows up and I will continue to be this person, even as the stakes get higher and the threats keep coming. And this conversation with my friend reminded me that I need to be well resourced in order to hold myself to this commitment.
Some folks might have to think a while to come up with a list of what to do to resource themselves. I have an immediate answer. I know for sure that I draw my strength from being on the land, on the farm, and in the garden. Every time I’m with the plants, puttering, greeting the robins, the jays, and even yesterday the Cooper’s Hawk who landed in the thicket outside of my workspace-the earth brings me to life. Working with seeds, holding the past present and future in my hands heals and steels my spirit. I feel very sure that growing and harvesting from the garden heals me, changes me, and brings me that feeling of being resourced for what’s to come. Maybe you can relate? Maybe the garden is a source of strength and resource for you as well. We gardeners are the lucky ones. We have our gardens to get us through.
This year I am planning to grow food and seed with abandon, to work hard, seek out collaborative partnerships, bring people to the farm to work together and infuse some joy into each other and into this world. Seeds are prayers. Each time we place a seed in soil we are believing somehow in a future moment of flourishing.
So Gardener friends, I invite you to do the same! Garden with ferocity and tears and tenderness this year. Resource yourself in your ways and be bold! Invite someone who may not have space or sun to grow a vegetable garden to grow with you. Or just invite some folks for lunch to share the bounty. We cannot predict the future of our political system but we can affect the earth outside our doorsteps and plant seeds of hope and freedom.
Links to share:
Podcast: The Telepathy Tapes- recommended to me by my dear friend Rachel. I listened to this mind blowing, heart opening series about the amazing abilities of non verbal autistic people. If you want to expand your beliefs about what is real and possible listen to this series.
Newsletters I enjoy: Radicle on Substack- written by a gardener in the UK who also goes by @decolonizethegarden on Instagram. I enjoy their perspectives on the complexities and responsibilities of those of us who seek to grow gardens and relate to the earth.
Seed Resources: Going to Seed- is a wonderful group of folks who organize gardeners to grow out and distribute genetically diverse seed crops. “Inspiring a shift in agriculture towards adaptation, community, and diversity”. Check them out!
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