So I found myself comforting someone I very much care about on Valentines Day. She had just broken up with her boyfriend the night before. I tried to put a brave face on and assure her that part of dating is not only finding the right one, but finding the wrong ones. Its sort of like trying new foods- you sometimes have to go through those you don’t like to find the ones you really like. I was in college when I found out I really liked sour cream on my baked potatoes, and pizza was a good thing. It was also that time, that sushi went on the maybe not so much list.
As the phone call ended a voice in my head went off – do you really believe that? Do you trust that all of the things you are trying will result in a better outcome. Sometimes yes I do, and sometimes no.
I guess in farming, as in life, we have to keep moving, trying new things and discovering what works. Its ok to stop and rest, and it is helpful if we have others who can encourage us when we get down. In the end though, we keep moving, growing and learning.
This Flame Azalea blooms just once a year for about 2 weeks. You see, it is located about 5 miles up in a place called Gregory’s Bald in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Getting up to Gregory’s Bald is a hike – 5 and a half miles of up. It seems like there are 50 switchbacks as you go up to Gregory’s Bald. To my eye’s, every switchback seemed to be the one that would lead to the bald, and after climbing for a half hour, I turned the corner only to realize that there was another switchback. A time to rest, a time to encourage each other, and on we would go. Until finally, we were on top of the mountain.
And so it is with life, and in particular farming. We just have to keep going.
I have to admit it is easier to write and say, than to do sometimes.