Hands in the dirt

"If you are on the fifth step of a ladder and think that you are very high, there is no hope for you to climb to the sixth." - Thich Nhat Hanh

For a long time, our culture has neglected the weeding. It is too mundane for us, and too dirty. We have mechanized farming as quickly as we can. Relied on added chemicals and genetic alterations to maximize production and minimize effort. Stripped the land for commodity crops which can be turned into easily packaged and shipped processed foods.

But as any recreational economist can tell you, every action has an opportunity cost. And as my mom has been known to say, "If it sounds like it's too good to be true, it probably is." No matter how we choose to operate as a species, that choice will cost us something. In the case of our food system, we have lost our connection to the basic elements of light, air, water and soil. I had a student once tell me that steak came from an animal called beef. He thought that a cow was something else we got milk from.

My arguments for eating locally and with less added chemicals or genetic modifications have primarily been related to health concerns and questions around sustainability. Can we keep eating this way and increasing our population without extinguishing our species on this planet? I don't know. I am concerned. But even if we can think our way out of this dilemma, continuing to get more yield from less land or mowing down our national parks for fields and pastures, do we want to live in that world?

Our lives become more sedentary with each generation. We see less green and more screen every year. We are hooking our minds and hearts up to an ever increasing quantity and diversity of technology. Just as important as our species' physical survival is the survival of our deep soul connection to the basic elements of life. More valuable than any TV, car, wristwatch, pair of shoes or designer clothing is the state of our very real, and very powerful, connection to all living and non-living things. The rocks, the dirt, the trees, the sky, the deer, the sunshine, the people we love. All depend on one another. We have the beautiful gift of being aware of this and feeling a sense of unity and wholeness every day if we so choose. But it is not on a TV show or in a cubicle. It is down on our knees with our hands in the mud. It is in the valleys, on the mountaintops and in the miraculous photosynthesis happening in the leaves.

For my part of this journey, I have noticed a growing desire to connect with these elemental miracles. I eat less processed food. Not organic stuff all the time. Not local all the time. But more than before. I never get the new paper or plastic bags offered at supermarkets. I always bring my own and use old bags for fruits and vegetables. I am thinking about what is going into my body and acknowledging that sometimes it might be a beer or chocolate. But it is becoming less about being a "better" person and more about being happier and discovering my deep roots in this land. It's not a task. It's an exploration. It's unwrapping a gift which has been right under my feet since birth.