Thinking

I was sitting in the lower field eating some lunch when I noticed a small black ant carrying something three times it's size. It wasn't surprising, I mean that's just what ants do. A fly landed on my skirt and instead of mindlessly swatting it away I took a moment to admire it's ginormous eyes. Not surprising, flies just have really big eyes. A spider crawled up my arm. I gently picked it up and set it on the ground beside me, letting it continue on with whatever it is that spiders do. From the porch behind me I could hear the buzzing of hundreds of bees gathering at their boxes. I wasn't surprised at how active they were. Gathering pollen on a warm sunny day is just what honeybees do.

Amidst all of the earth's little creatures I was sitting, a big human sitting and thinking. Thinking about how easily I could squish an ant, swat a fly, or kill a spider. So often that is just what humans do. Something has changed for me, though. I don't do any of those things.

We are all a part of a very big ecosystem. Each little insect has a role in this world, every microbe has a job.  Our jobs aren't as clear. We have the ability to think about what we want to do rather than just do. We create options and if we are lucky we find our paths, or the thing that we are meant to do. The thing that makes our hearts happy.  I am blessed to feel so connected to something. I feel so connected to this earth, and I see myself as a just a small piece in this very big ecosystem. I am not surprised by all the "simple" things that each insect does each day, but I am amazed. I think the novelty will always be there. As an organic farmer (in training), I see it as my job to respect all energy, microscopic and humongous. To try my best to understand the natural systems in this world and see how I can work with those systems and not against.

It's easy to bulldoze an acre, or hundreds, and make things grow. It's convenient to have acres and acres of one crop growing. It's easier to spray chemicals on your crop than to deter the pests organically. It's faster to harvest when things are uniform, and simple tasks make for cheap labor. Yet I am convinced that there is a better way. And I am not the only one that thinks so. Understand that when you buy a conventionally grown tomato from the grocery store you are saying yes to large scale, convenient agriculture. I think it is our job to think before doing. Ask questions. Support small-scale, local farmers. It's easy to get into a routine, to do without thinking why first.  Before you buy the brand name, or squash the spider that crawls on your arm, take a moment and ask why. Let's do what humans are meant to do... let's think before we just do.