This morning as I took my morning walk with my pup out to the back field, I noticed the first ice crystals forming on puddles and the beaver pond. This change of season never gets old for me. It’s so much more than the temperature changing. This change from fall to winter marks a pivot in my perspective from how I am seen by the world to how I see the world. From the wide awake of spring toward the dreaming sleep of winter. It is a time we can more clearly see the world and our place in it.
Thoughts and ice crystalize penetrate the ground and our mind. None of this is possible in the summer months. There is just too much energy and excitement all around us. For years I felt a sadness at this time of year, as all the plants die off or go into winter sleep. Now I see that there is so much going on, and without all the growth and flowers and activity of spring and summer, I can see the structure and order that reveal the patterns and bones of nature itself.
Another way that helps me understand the pure magic of this seasonal shift is to see the miracle of seed formation. In the spring and summer the plants bloom wildly and beautifully, completely distracting us (and the bees and birds) with their beauty and their scent. But the whole purpose of a plant is to produce seed. The flower and show are mere distractions from the real purpose, which is a massive compression process taking all the information contained in a plant, a towering tree, a slender blade of grass, and compressing it into a tiny seed that will withstand time and weather and even being eaten by an insect or bird. It will explode in spring into a copy of what it came from. Pure magic!
This is dream time for the planet. And dream time for us, too. The time when we can dive deeply into our thoughts and intuitions and make sense of them. To gain that special kind of wisdom that makes us human.
Personally, I am working on the most stubborn issues of my existence right now – at the beginning of winter – trust. Trust that Farmers To You will become fully sustainable, that I can trust that new families will see the gift we bring each week and join us, and that I can trust others to carry on this adventure as my time approaches to step away from the day to day. What gives me confidence is that I can trust that I am a part of the natural world and that she always provides what we need to thrive.
Food plays a very special role in all this. Our fall vegetables hold tremendous energy for us to work through this time. The pulses, grains, meats and cheeses have a special potency right now that are designed to give us the clarity and wisdom we will need to work through our lessons. We love slow-cooked meals that are thick and savory because we need the comfort of easily digested foods to support our inner work. Think of all the wisdom and information you ingest in a simple bowl of cooked grains (seeds).
I love this work of farming — and feeding you all — simply because it allows me to dive deeply into an activity that on the surface seems so simple, but has a depth and richness that is, I’m sure, bottomless.
Thank you again for your partnership in creating Farmers To You, and I hope you enjoy your season of introspection and gratitude. Even if, like me, you are working on issues that require humility and deep work.
With gratitude,
Greg
