Author: Philo

human

Thank God It’s Friday

It is difficult to portray true sympathy.  The words fail somehow; they become crass or ridiculous.  Language fails often where thought is concerned.  However, it is important, somehow, to express what we feel; especially to those we care about and perhaps more importantly: to ourselves.

Life, it would seem, is very short and it is difficult to be sympathetic to this when the workday seems so long or the weekend so far off.  This, on the other hand, seems to be a failure of thought but the results are the same:

“hump-day…yay!”

“Thank god it’s Friday!”

It is as if we are wishing parts of our lives away.  But we are unable to be sympathetic to the true consequences of doing so.  Those boring days that we wished away are automatically the subject of longing and desire when we realize, in short and few moments, how short life really is.  Sympathy seems important to remember if we are to understand that a beautiful day or a starry night is…well, miraculous.

But our thoughts cannot contain such grandiose ideas and as a result our language fails.  No matter how much we may love, the word “love” will always fall short.  No matter how much we may seem to care, the word “care” never cuts it.

Philosophers have pondered the concept of time and the only objectively real component of temporal ideas: it is the present.  And so, be sympathetic to the present and what it contains, which is the whole universe; something that we may never come to understand.

Fixing Things

“Fixing things may be a cure for narcissism.” -Shop class as Soulcraft, Mathew Crawford

To be sure, whether this is a moral or factual statement remains to be seen.  In any case it is a meaningful phrase.  The act of fixing things seems to be becoming antiquated: “fix when you can buy” is no longer a question but an exclamation.  This simple grammatical change has moral implications.

As we stare down into the abyss of cellphones, the only time we take our eyes off the virtual keyboard is to look at the battery are “bars” display.  Each telling us just a bit of information and at the same time telling us nothing at all.  We know we need both for our illusion to continue, but we have no idea how these things work.

Our fix for one becomes walking around in circles and our fix for the other is not a fix at all: toss it.

Fixing things, whether that is a house or a machine (or even a farm) is not easier than fixing ourselves, but is better.  Let me explain: the one actually does fix the other but the other can never fix the one.  To fix things, fixes the self.  It must because, as Crawford states, and as anyone who has both fixed things and put thought into fixing things will attest, the self must take a backseat to the material thing.

The material part is important because it is not a part of us; it cares a whit for us; it has no agenda or empathy; it simply is.  This fact is ironically somewhat spiritual in nature.  And when things need fixing there is no room for petty arrogance and ignorance will be paid back in full with pain and frustration.

Fixing things reminds us that we are not the center of the universe, something that most of us need to be reminded of quite often.

Life

Everyone makes mistakes; some bigger and others not so much.  However, as has been mentioned in this blog on previous occasions: mistakes are useful if we learn from them.  That being said, learning from mistakes are rarely enjoyable experiences and perhaps even harder to actually learn from.  I’ve made my share of mistakes and have come up with a three-part plan to deal with the mistakes that are inevitable in our lives.

First…the mistake.

Our societies have somehow made mistakes faux pas’.  Interestingly enough talking to individuals we are given advice on how mistakes are helpful.  This contradiction is perhaps explainable if we do not assume that people know when they’ve made mistakes.  The first step in this three-part plan is to recognize and accept the mistake.  Both actions take concerted efforts on our parts and are not fun.  But, we are here to rectify mistakes!

Secondly… consider how the mistake happened.

Once the mistake is recognized gnashing of teeth and crying of tears will probably ensue.  This is to be expected.  At some point, however, we must begin the learning process and this process begins with understanding the decisions that led to and perhaps continue the mistake itself.  So, between the gnashing and crying take an assessment of your decision-making processes that led you to the point that you are recognizing, i.e. the mistake.  Do this while gnashing and crying perhaps, but do it at any rate.  Perhaps a beverage or two, but not too much as we don’t want to lead ourselves down a path that leads us to even more mistake-making.

Third….what now!?

After the last tear has fallen and the last tooth has been gnashed, a plan is needed.  Take a good and honest look at the situation you find yourself in and ask a simple question: where do you want to be?  Is it another place?  Is it another person?  Is it another philosophy or job? and then start the process of making further mistakes again.  Enjoy the trip and start the three-part process over again.

Have fun and best of luck!

Paying Attention

On a whim, we bought four chicks from a well-known agriculture store to supplement our existing flock.  After a few weeks, we find that we have three roosters and a hen.  Right now they’re cute; they run around playing and chirping, but I know the future for the three little roosters.

That future is a reality for people who have decided to be self-sufficient.  The first lesson to learn is that self-sufficiency is not always bucolic, it is not always so peaceful.  Every day I take the little chicks out of their box in the coop and transfer them to the chicken tractor to enjoy the grass and sunshine.  And all the time, I know that the rooster’s days are numbered.

Last year, I “processed” about sixty five chickens and two pigs.  The killing is not easy, but the passing of the days with the animals was enjoyable.  Don’t let anyone lie to you: animals have a personality and I firmly believe that they smile in their own way.  This does not make my job easier and nor should it.  When it becomes easy to kill or worse, enjoyable, then we as a society have a problem.

This problem shows itself in many ways, often subtle but equally disturbing.  Taking a life, human or otherwise, should never be an act taken lightly, but because we often want easy, it has become just that.  Every morning I take the chicks out, and I let the hens out.  All of them have a limited time on earth and so do we.  Death is inevitable, but it is the time before death that counts.

Maybe we should pay attention to life a bit more and we will finally realize just how precarious it is.

Nature vs. Nurture

Companies have begun to “grow” meat products.  These are started with DNA from the various animals that we eat and then are grown, like a plant.  There is something humane about this, at least at first glance. These meat products lack any vestige of conciousness; they are merely food without the death.   I kill most of the meat that I eat, and I don’t like to kill things at all.  But it’s honest and the animals always have a good life.

More and more plants are genetically modified to resist diseases or grow quicker; they are modified to last longer.  And there is something useful about this, at least at first glance.  These plants are often grown with a built-in pesticide or a gene that helps them resist cold temperatures.   I grow most of the food I eat and I don’t like to deal with the pests that enjoy my gardens. But I’ve found that natural remedies tend to take care of the problems.

Less and less people know anything about the food that they eat, where it comes from, what has been done to it, or who controls the food supply.  Grocery stores are easy, plentiful and sometimes a bit expensive.  I don’t like grocery stores because food is viewed simply as a product rather than a staple, and is often not respected.  There’s one right around the corner, near the farmers market.

Farms are no longer bucolic and healthy places to work.  They deal more with drugs and chemicals than with animals and plants.  Farmers are slaves to the companies and companies will soon phase them out for autonomous machinery.  The grocery stores won’t notice.  I hope someone does though.

Doing What Needs to be Done

About two years ago I gave up a cush and fairly lucrative job teaching college to experiment with self-sufficient living.  Since then I have struggled with what to say when people ask me what I do.  The conversations are a bit awkward, at least for me.

First, I am not retired.  It is difficult to remember the last time I worked this hard.  Self-sufficiency consists of farming, but not the industrial type.  Self-sufficient farming is physical and limited, but is rewarding and incredibly efficient if done correctly.  But self-sufficient living is not limited to farming; I am not “just” a farmer.

Self-sufficient living relies upon the ability to fix things, to build things, to plan things, to heat and cool and keep alive.  Self-sufficiency by its very nature is the dichotomy of retirement.  It is the realization that retirement is synonymous with inability.

Secondly, I am not a contractor.  While it is true that much of what I do during the day is carpentry-based the job title is not fully described by carpentry.  While it is true that cabinets and counter tops are installed, they are also built often with wood that was milled right at the farm.  But, I do not own a sawmill and I am not a cabinet builder.  I sometimes must repair machinery or bring old machinery back to life, but I am not a mechanic.

Lastly,  I make money and money is necessary, yes, but self-sufficient living is an act that strives to make money much less necessary.  The hours in the week working at Trollcastle Farm is directly deposited into the bank account but does not come in the form of a check.  Rather, it comes by not having to pay someone else; often money does not exchange hands.  Money comes from not having to buy all the material that I use, all the food I eat.

So, what do I do?  I run a business, a sole proprietorship.  I fix and build things; I grow things, I am a caretaker of the little piece of land that I have.  I work.  I am a working man.  I do what needs to be done.  That is what I do.

To Finish What You’ve Started

There is no way to know what you are getting into when you start a project.  The first hammering of a nail, the first whiff of dust or the first word tells us nothing; it only opens doors to unseen futures, futures that did not exist seconds before we’ve made our decisions.

But, when we’ve made our decisions, it seems, the futures pop into reality from the simplest of ideas, from the most vague of visions.  Futures, the ideas of futures, run our lives albeit silently at first.

The hen may not take to the chicks, the house may not be built, the dream may not succeed, the book may not be written; the idea may die unborn.  And yet we must push on.  It is almost as if a sickness takes over the mind and drives all reason from our heads and fills them with grandeur visions of what could be.

However difficult, however impossible our projects may seem when we are knee deep in mud or muddled over words, no matter if we cannot continue to hammer one more nail in a board, or bring another idea into existence: we must finish what we’ve started.  For not to do so is the true failure.

We must resist the all-powerful feeling to walk away because no matter what we do we will inevitably live and die with our decisions whether or not they are successes.

A Particular Failure

To do what is right is extremely difficult.  The agrarian experiment entails giving up niceties without giving up civilization; the grocery store is still a reality.  However, while visiting the “walk of shame” we are faced with choices: should I buy that bag of bread or bake my own?  Perhaps I should not buy those paper towels and just use my cloths I have at home?

Sometimes we fail to make the right choices because it is too easy to make the wrong choices.

The list goes on: pork, beef, flour, milk…

The opportunities are always available: farmer’s markets, neighbors, localvore, and just doing without.

Sometimes when we fail, we know that we have failed, or perhaps more honest: that we are failing in the moment; that we fail ourselves is the worst.  On the farm, failure is, as has so many times been said, not an option: the work must get done, and there will always be more work.

I cannot feel but there is a correlation in politics today.  This country has made the wrong choice because it was an easy choice to make for some.  To make the right choice from this point on will be difficult.   And while I do not wish this simple blog to become simply a political  podium, and cannot but hope that after this failure is finally finished that we can turn and perhaps after acknowledging that we have failed our selves, can pick up and do the work that is inevitably waiting as it is until our dying days.

Quotes

“The military does not create killers; it’s just finishing school.”

“The veneer of civilization is very, very thin…”

“We will not make the same old mistakes; we will make our own.”

“Whoever cries enough, laughs.”

“Windmills are going to be the death of Scotland and even England if they don’t do something about them. They are ruining the countryside.”

“Ignorance is a challenge; stupidity is a choice.”

“An honest man is always a child.”

“You’re class is too hard.”…”And why do you think that?”….”Because I’m not doing very well.”

“The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.”

Pieces and Pictures.

 

As of late, the main job at the farm has been finishing the shop.  “Finishing” has included a hectic schedule of demolition and renovation that has lasted approximately five months.  The job was done alone, and perhaps because of the concentrated reno-work or simply because of the single-handedness there has been an intimate relationship with almost every piece, pipe, and plug in the place.

Now the newly installed floors are being sanded.  Every nook, every cranny, every crack and misplaced joint has been stared down.  The largeness of the job has become a singularity of pieces of a puzzle that is much larger than it seems.  Perspectives change without us knowing.

The fields are unmowed and the barn is filled with “stuff”, seemingly forgotten because of the total concentration on the shop.  However, perspectives change.  The sanding and preparation done, the floors are ready for finishing and the time to broaden perspectives again is now on the horizon.  Perhaps, with a little luck, the farming will come into view soon.

Perhaps soon the nooks and crannies, the cracks and crevices will be forgotten for different puzzles and pieces.  And one day, perhaps, all the pieces will be placed; standing back the picture that was always there, in pieces, will be in full view.  Perspectives change with the pictures that we create.