What I Learned From a Farmer … Don’t Use Too Many Words …

July 3, 2020

I am tapping away once again.  Today, I feel compelled to share, I remain positive in my mind set the sun will come across the land once more on July 4th as we celebrate our Nation’s independence.  No matter what we think or say today, I am confident that will happen.  To me, this is the gift we are all given in life.   We must work to make the best of each sunrise and to grow the best “crop” we can each year out of the conditions we are given.  Too much rain, too little rain, it is no matter,  we work with and make the best of what we face each year.  I have learned much from people that appreciate the land.  Land gives you grounding and what I believe is a longview of life.

I truly enjoy the people I work around because I learn much from their wisdom and unique perspectives.  Folks in the land & agricultural community tend to take this longview and only share opinions that are often well formulated and vetted in the root of the matter.  Perhaps this stems from the time they spend in solitude on a tractor, in a barn and tending to their daily duties.  They don’t often have a lot of folks to listen to them, so perhaps they find ways to reconcile their thoughts on issues in their own way quietly.

Clearly, a lot of us, (myself included talk only to figure stuff out for ourselves).  Today, there is a lot of talking.  We are often trying out our mind’s work on our neighbor sitting next to us, no matter if they want to hear it or not.  These poorly crafted thoughts lead in poor directions and create undesirable outcomes.  I think we would all benefit greatly if we took time to formulate our thoughts for ourselves in more deliberate ways.  I am certainly going to work towards this going forward after my recent discussion with a gentleman while he was steady running his planter.  This might result in more thoughtful and meaningful outcomes in all of the matters we work on and discuss each day. 

My intent in sharing this thought is simply to offer an optimistic view regarding the matters of day.  Our world has faced great challenges before and I remain confident in myself and my neighbor to manage these challenges and make good decisions.  Perhaps by talking less and thinking more deliberately better outcomes will occur.  Maybe we all need more tractor time, beach time, time in the woods, or simply time on the park bench. 

I have spent that last few days feeling compelled to share this thought.  I hope it finds you well and able to find your place for your own time. 

“Use Less words” is not what the man said, it was what he did not say and his actions that has stayed with me.  Be Well.