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Nov 17, 2014

Two Spiritual Dangers


I came across a quote recently.

"There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the other that heat comes from the furnace.” --Aldo Leopold

Now, folks. I want you to really read this quote and think about what it means to you.

Most of us today live in a world of luxury. Even those of us that don't think we have it so well, have it pretty darn well.

My take from this quote is that not everyone needs to own a farm to understand the foundation of our luxurious lives but we need to take the time to appreciate our roots, agriculture advances and the technologies that have lead us to the lives we live.

Sometimes I really truly think that people don't understand how they ended up where they are today. Often times, I see people biting the hand that feeds them.

We get upset when the "power" goes out and our energy bill goes up but do we think twice about heating our homes with our own energy?

Guilty.

I am guilty and you are guilty.

Energy and food provided for us, yes, with a price tag is a luxury, not a right.

We are able to work and make money outside of our homes because we no longer have to stay at home to create energy, grow food and produce textiles.

Those tasks are done for us.

It's the American dream.

YOU have the option to come home from work and DO NOTHING if you really wanted to.

Our ancestors did not have that option if they wanted to survive.  The phrase, "I am bored" was not in their vocabulary. One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone claims they are bored; especially if they are a homeowner.

I can't think of the last time that I was bored. I really don't remember stating I was bored as a child and my mother can correct me if I am wrong, but it's been a long, long time. I knew in the back of my mind, if I mentioned that I was bored, my parents would find something for me to do. It would be a task that I wouldn't enjoy. Growing up, we had a few chores but nothing like the chores my Amish neighbor's tasked to their children.

I worry that most of our society is bored and that boredom is taken for granted.

We've lost our sense of self worth but along the way, we picked up entitlement and it's being passed down to our children.

I didn't grow up on a large farm by any means, but my parents had a small horse farm nestled out in the country in the middle of no where Indiana. We had animals to feed, hay to make, property to care for and trips to the grocery store and Sam's Club were planned in advanced. My dad always split wood for the fireplace. I learned pretty quickly on the days I helped him that splitting wood was not an enjoyable task. Even though I don't have a wood burning source of heat in my own home as an adult, I have learned to appreciate the fact that my husband and I do not have to split wood to survive. I literally flick a switch to turn on our fireplace. Our provided energy is not taken for granted, however. The time that would be taken to split wood is now divided into other productive categories.

My childhood was not hard but I wasn't bored, either.

And I'm not bored as an adult.

Growing up in the country taught me that here's always something to do.

Never take your boredom for granted and for goodness sake, never complain about it.

While you're bored, someone is out there working hard so you can eat and sit in a warm house.

2 comments:

  1. Love this post! How refreshing from all of the hate out there. I don't expect to be patted on the back and praised that my family raises food for the world to eat, but it is a luxury way too many people take for granted and they DO bite the hands that feed them.

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  2. Thank you for sharing this. As one who raised on a farm where we grew much of what we ate as well as having Angus and standard bred horses haven't forgotten to appreciate that upbringing. We never had to split wood to heat our home, but I learned to at a elderly neighbor's how to, trying to keep their parlor stove well stocked. Used that skill for my own children growing up.

    Also have learned how lucky we are in this country from what have seen elsewhere. My kids were told this many times growing up no matter how tough we had it, there were others far worse off. It wasn't until years later and some traveling that they began to understand it's not always as easy as going to grocery store or just turning on the faucet.

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