Amid oceans on fire, sea animals cooking to death in the Pacific, and our own little farm facing its hottest season yet—we're left asking, what next?
If this isn't the question of the hour, the decade, or of our lifetime, we don't know what could be. From climate change projections and accelerations, human rights atrocities, mass extinctions, humanity's plummeting fertility rates, and the unfathomable corporate wealth driving so much destruction—it's impossible not to ask "how do/should/can we move forward?" with bated breath. At least not when we get deep enough into the data being reported by experts across the globe. Experts who are often tragically mere echoes behind the grind of a loud, extractive, and seemingly unstoppable machine.
It's the uncomfortable elephant in the room. The focus of many a social media post, but often avoided in real social interactions. Our inclination at Prema has long been to remain solution-focused while staying aware of the problems, but there are moments like these that warrant a cold and steady look at what's broken. Perhaps the inflamed overwhelm it spurs is the fuel we need to keep on keeping on. To get back out and lovingly tend the land while we watch thousands of acres of it burn in front of us. To talk of simple things with our young daughters and hold compassion for ourselves and others when we tune out the intensity of current affairs with benign distractions. To stay present while aimed at a better and more hopeful future.
And yet, "What next?" remains. And what could the answer be but, one step at a time? Every little one.
In the Vedas—the oldest teachings on earth and the backbone of our life at Prema—there is a practice called Karma Yoga. It loosely translates to the "yoga of action" or the "means of leading one's actions to enlightenment." It's a simple practice of giving our absolute best in every moment while also completely relinquishing attachment to the results of our actions. To give our all, and ask for nothing. It's total surrender and anchored in the wisdom that we never control our outcomes, only our inputs.
Karma Yoga in our own lives predates our farming adventure but certainly prepared us well for it. If there's anything that confirms how little control we actually wield over our lives, it's farming (and parenting, but that's another post). In our 'by our own bootstraps' culture, this perspective can invoke much resistance, as we're inclined to take credit for all our accomplishments and also bear the lessons, shame, and burden of that which we've failed. Karma Yoga asks for those highs and lows to be viewed as gifts, always. And to see all actions in this life and in these bodies as acts of devotion to that which moves our muscles and lengthens our fingernails. Devotion to life itself. It promises there is deep peace in this approach. We can promise it's as hard as it sounds, and yet a valuable practice as our future feels increasingly uncertain.
Because the honest answer to "What next?" is that nobody really knows. There are no guarantees that even the most drastic shifts in ecological relations, consumer behaviors, corporate regulations, and human health would ensure our survival, let alone stability. There are never guarantees. But there is comfort in the beauty and opportunity before us now, and in each and every moment we breathe in. The chance to heed the call of our own quiet pull towards whatever seems like our best offering, our best action...our best step forward.
The heat is on and there is no better time to get moving.
Tonight's field of flowers amid forests on fire.
Inside Your Box This Week
Slicer Tomato
Pink Radish
Curly Kale
Radicchio
Scallions
Kohlrabi
Arugula
Carrots
Turnips
Basil
Dill
Recipes Worth Trying...
{click images to go to recipe}
For supporting our small organic farm.
For helping pave a way forward for regenerative agriculture.
For investing in young farmers.
For buying local.
We're honored to nourish you!