A Rumination On The Environment

TUES., MAR. 16, 1982, 6:13 AM
FARM, STUDY

You must, this week, commence… even finish… the next issue of Ruminations, which shall be the amalgam of your comments and Mine on this environment, the earth and all that is, therein. In order to jog you just a bit I shall offer you some observations, both fresh and rerun.

Where you are now, of course, the environment has a seasonal rhythm to it. It is the true analog of human life – birth, growing, maturing, producing, waning, dying… and then rebirth into a new cycle. It is the same. It is different. Both/and. One important principle to life where there are changing seasons is an adaptation of rhythm. You appreciate this quite well, but I’ll just rerun it. Live as much in accord with the seasons as possible, fighting them and resisting them as little as possible. The cold of winter can be severe, even painful, but it is an important seasonal experience. The good life is a balance of pain and pleasure, comfort and discomfort. Enjoy the cold, for it shall ebb, as it has today.

The spring is a time to plant. There will be no beauty or produce in summer if the planting is neglected now. Spring is generally comfortable, but it is a short season in which accomplishment is important. Balance carefully what you attempt to do. It is better to attempt less and succeed than to set goals that immobilize you with their immensity.

Another important balance is that between beauty and practical production. Mix vegetables and flowers. Encourage the beauty that is seasonally automatic on your Farm. Also take sufficient time to “clean up”. Part of beauty is positive addition to the environment; another part is removal or prevention of ugliness. Consider this principle for your office also. Increase the beauty and diminish the ugliness. Be a bit more severe in taking out that which is no longer productive. You and others will appreciate this action.

Continue to use the environment to enrich itself. Some harvesting of your manure is in order. You can transform it from ugliness into grow-producing tilth. Do so. Utilize earth. Develop more compost. Encourage the natural processes of decay, which also are the processes of generation. That is demonstrated in the environment, but is a principle that applies to human life as well.