Whats been on my mind

I tend to think of things on large scales. The grander the experience or adventure, the better. Thats not to say that I don't value the small moments because I do as well. I love the feeling I have after having great conversation with someone, or helping someone jump start their car or buying my roommate her favorite kind of candy. However, I seem to be pulled towards the dream of doing something HUGE someday. Being apart of something that makes big waves in the community and brings out the passions in others. This may one day come true.

But today in the garden, I couldn't help thinking about how important the small moments truly do make us who we are. I was hunched over the recently planted turnips, radishes, and beets pulling the weeds that were threatening to take over the bed. While weeding, I was also thinning out the baby sprouts to give each plant adequate space. This is a very tedioius process. You have to be careful when pulling up the weeds and plants not to acidentally pull up the wanted plants as well. The growing turnips, radishes and beets are so very small that you also have be very gentle. I spent a good hour working on this process and felt like there was so much to take from the experience. If I chose not to weed out the unwanted plants, and thin out the desired veggies, the bed would be taken over. A quote that has stuck out to me quite a bit lately is:

  "In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love."

 Mother Theresa

Working in a garden really forces you to see the importance in taking pride in the small things. I've only been here a little over two weeks and I already feel like I'm bursting with new thoughts and knowledge. Its pretty exciting stuff.

I've been trying to finish a book by Wendell Berry called Sex, Economy, Freedom and Community. (Juliette I'm almost finished and it will be in the mail to you ASAP!! promise!!) The book is comprised of several essays written by Berry throughout the early 90's. Several of the essays have really been challenging me. I'd like to share a couple of quotes with you all. 

"...There is good work to be done by every one of us and that we must begin to do it.  All of us are responsible for bad work, not so much because we do it ourselves (though we all do it) as because we have it done for us by other people."

-Conservation in good work, Wendell Berry

"Most of us get almost all the things we need by buying them; most of us know only vaguely, if at all, where those things come from; and most of us know not at all what damage is involved in their production.  We are almost entirely dependent on an economy of which we are almost entirely ignorant. The provenance, for example, not only of the food we buy at the store, but of the chemicals, fuels, metals, and other materials necessary to grow, harvest, transport, process, and package that food is almost necessarily a mystery to us." 

-Conservation in Good Work, Wendell Berry

After finishing this particular essay, I was amazed that it had been written in 1991! Thats almost 20 years ago! I've been wrestling quite a bit lately with how Christians in America play into the current state of the environment and our Americanized way of living. I believe that God blessed us abundantly with the gift of nature and animals and trees. That he took great joy in constructing the intricate ecosystems around the world and the life cycles of living organisms. That when he created us, he intended us to be caretakers of all that he had created. Looking at the current state of our earth and the rapid extinction of specific types of animals around the world, dead zones in the ocean as large as Texas, and the loss of 150 acres of rainforest every minute; its overwhelming! 

I'm in no way claiming that these losses are all on Christians' shoulders, but I wanted to share some of whats been on my heart. Wendell Berry himself being a Christian has some interesting thoughts on the subject:

"Christian organizations, to this day, remain largely indifferent to the rape and plunder of the world and of its traditional cultures. It is hardly too much to say that most Christian organizations are as happily indifferent to the ecological, cultural, and religious implications of industrial economics as are most industrial organizations. The certified Christian seems just as likely as anyone else to join the military-industrial conspiracy to murder Creation." 

Christianity and the Survival of Creation, Wendell Berry

Whether you believe this comment or not, I think its important in life to read and ponder different points of view to fully understand why we are living as we are and why we believe what we do. I find myself getting overwhelmed with the the big picture. What am I to do to stop people from living wasteful lives in all aspects. How can I be apart of the change?

But then  I'm brought back to my little spot in the garden and the simple task of pulling weeds. Change starts small and in ways that may not be visible to those around you. By making the conscious choice to support your local farmers, reusing items more than once, carpooling or walking places, only buying what you need and so forth; it adds up. This is something I hope to continue to learn and grow in daily and carry with me till the end of my days. 

I already feel hopeful that there is a great change on the horizon. That people of all beliefs are beginning to value this beautiful earth we've been given and doing their part to protect it.