 |
When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
Will come to you
After the initial joy and disbelief, waking up one morning with a sense of unease was perhaps not unexpected. The responsibility of caring for my land, to a standard of perfection only seen in dreams, was overwhelming. I felt inadequate and undeserving.
Garden club that night seemed pointless but I went because it was on the calendar. The thing about garden club is you can't stay miserable for long. Welcoming smiles, perfectly brewed tea and home baking usher in the evening's business. Carolyn Herriot from Seeds Of Victoria and author of The Zero Mile Diet and The Zero Mile Diet Cookbook was the guest speaker.
What a feisty gal she turned out to be. Here is a sampling of the what she had to say:
Over a million Canadians, half of whom are children, go hungry every day.
Few communities have more than 3-4 days worth of food stockpiled for emergency situations
The average piece of food travels 2000km to reach us, spending days, even weeks, between harvest and consumption, losing taste and nutritional value along the way.
People have lost their knowledge of nutrition and the ability to grow their own food.
Oh silly girl. It's not about an unrealistic dream. Forget perfection. It's an Opportunity. A gift of Possibilities. It is the culmination of my beliefs. I'll dig and I'll plant and I'll share and I'll learn. I'll go to meetings and write letters and be demanding of politicians. Oh there will be doubt and fatigue and frustration and naysayers. Not to worry, certainty is powerful. I'm where I'm supposed to be.
I have admiration for you and for your confidence in your beliefs. Your garden club sounds like a very nuturing place!
ReplyDeleteI've only recently understood the way I need to live my life. In that I am finally confident, the rest not so much
DeleteIt sounds as if you have settled happily and comfortably into your 'hearts desire', but those statistics are shocking. To learn that half a million Canadian children go hungry - Canada is not a poverty stricken country whatever can the figure be for the world.
ReplyDeleteRosemary, I thought she might be overstating so I did some research. A report dated August 2013, published by the Conference Board of Canada, estimates that some two million people in this country suffer from “food insecurity” – meaning nutritious food is sometimes or always unavailable or unaffordable to them. The World Food Programme says 870 million people in the world do not have enough to eat. Their website is worth a read.
DeleteHi Susan, I've been reading your blog for about 6 months or so and it is a treat. My husband is director for the College of Sustainability at Dalhousie University. There is a lecture series that brings in leaders in environmental issues, social justice issues related to the environment and so on. These top leaders are frequently asked by the students, if one person could do something to make a change, what would it be? The answer over and over again is for each person to feel powerful in following their passion. That one person can make a world of difference to themselves, their families, and their communities. Each person is usually unaware of the true seeds that are planted in other's minds and their passions. So to go forward each day, in hope and love is the greatest act of defiance/healing that can be done. You are absolutely on the right track.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your comment. The gift of validation is precious. I was feeling unsure about this post but the events felt significant and I wanted to relay them. Lately I have been thinking a lot about seeds. I feel strongly we all have at least one seed within us worth planting.
DeleteSuch powerful words...the song "When You Wish Upon A Star" is a favorite and an inspiration...I have been on this journey and also feel I am where I am supposed to be...it is so lovely to find a great group of people to share with.
ReplyDeleteI think the term older and wiser is true. We make better choices for ourselves based on experience although I think I've been a slow learner.
DeleteHI Susan I am a new follower of your blog and enjoy it very much. It never ceases to amaze me, that when I am fondering the most or so unsure of where I am supposed to be going or what I am really supposed to be doing, something places me in front of myself and I realize it is always right where I am. Thank you for sharing your journey.
ReplyDeleteThanks CatieAn. We never know it all do we, there is aways some new insight if we care to look.
DeleteI can't grow much of the food we eat, but every bite means a lot to me. I need to learn how to grow more variety rather than more quantity of the same thing. I hate waste! - Margy
ReplyDeleteGood for you for productively using what you have. Every little helps. Have you tried growing salad green over the winter?
DeleteHello Susan! I am Stephanie from Malaysia. Last night I couldn't see the stars as it was cloudy. Glad you have a good pic of them here! It has been a great challenge for me to grow food. But will still try. Thanks for the reminder on taste and nutrient loss after transportation. Have a great week and happy growing food :-)
ReplyDeleteExcellent thought-provoking post Susan - it is good to think that you have found your place in this world and know that it is right for you. I can't imagine not growing my own food and hate the way big organisations and supermarkets try to manipulate the way they want us to live.
ReplyDeleteOne of the points of the evening was people have lost the ability to grow their own food either through lack of knowledge or access to land. It seems there is still work for us to do in educating and changing attitudes.
DeleteThis made me smile, as I have lain awake at night with the same worry. It's a worry that's exacerbated by reading better-than-reality blogs and Country Living magazines. I've heard CH, and have her books and she is an inspiration. Have fun, too, as you dig and learn and share!
ReplyDeletePondside, how perceptive of you. I have stacks of Country Living all over my house.
DeleteGood job raising hope and awareness in one post!
ReplyDeleteI do believe I feel the pendulum swinging toward more meaning in life and less greed. In the nick of time.
I hope you are right. I live in a place very committed to the natural order of things so sometimes it is hard to gauge the mood in the outside world.
Delete