Christmas Is Upon Us
Greetings, my friends. Christmas is upon us. We are already covered in a blanket of snow and the thermometer shudders as it dives lower and lower every night. For too many of us, this time that is so well suited to introspection, bonding with family and friends, re-evaluation and definition of our core philosophy is distracted by the commercial bubble built around this special time.
From my own perspective this year has been the paradigm of Dickensian conflict – the best of times and the worst of times. All of us who choose to grow, be it on a commercial level or the single tomato plant in the backyard, certainly would categorize this year in the “worst of times” category. The cold wet spring, the endless rains during the longed for summer months, the early blight, the powdery mildew, the slugs and cut worms, and then the dreaded late blight. By the end of summer most people had just surrendered their garden space to the environmental forces of evil. True to the New England spirit – THERE IS ALWAYS NEXT YEAR! We all know that come January when the seed catalogs begin to appear in our mailboxes, we will once again sit by the fire and begin to plan that perfect garden for the beautiful weather that will surely bless us early next Spring!
I, like you, felt those feelings of frustration, resignation, disappointment, disbelief, anger, surrender and uncertainty as to whether it was even worth trying it again next year. But let me return to my Dickensian year. This spring, I was lying in a hospital bed in Maine Medical Center. I had been rushed there in an ambulance after my life partner Loretta and I had been told that I might only have a few weeks to live. After major neurosurgery the next day, Loretta was told that the odds favored one of two things happening over the course of the next week. I might die. If I didn’t die, there was a very good chance that I would become a quadriplegic.
It is now Christmas. I am healing well and the prognosis is good. It has been a lot of work getting to this point. I could feel depressed about all the pain I endured, the demanding recovery requirements, the loss of motion and flexibility, and the emotional toll the process had on me and my life partner. But let’s flip to the “best of times” part of my Dickensian year. The support and love given to me by Loretta, family and friends was truly inspirational. If, tomorrow, I lost every material thing I own I would in reality lose nothing. And by choosing to try to make a living as a solar organic plant grower, I have the perfect and rare opportunity to be able to do each of three wondrous things. Expand my personal philosophic core. Do good for others. And do something good for the local community and the world.
Every time I work the earth, plant a seed or walk amongst the beauty of nature that dwells right in my own garden – I also walk down that inner philosophic path and try to evaluate those pathway stones I laid in the past and where I want my personal path to lead in the future. Just as I try to balance the factors that will make my garden rich and full, I try to evaluate how to balance my life so it too will be rich and full. I marvel at how every element of my garden interacts with and supports every other element – the bugs, the soil, the compost, the worms, the water, the sun. Disrupt one and all are affected. I evaluate my life and its effect on others. How can I be a more supportive and positive force in the lives of those around me and the world in which I live.
What profession gives one the ability to share so closely and deeply a link to all those who have come before and will follow? Growing food for one’s self, one’s family and one’s community has to be the most basic and bonding activity a person could do. Food gives life, we share our thoughts and emotions over food, we celebrate over food and to share food with those in need may well be a simple definition of the meaning of life.
By making the decision and commitment to grow organically and using solar, low carbon foot print techniques, we can put our money where our mouths are. It is difficult. It can be frustrating. It requires more work. Being on the cutting edge requires a lot of research and development time and effort – the results of which don’t always work! But if WE don’t do it (or try to do it) then who will? And what right would we have to preach a better way if we didn’t do it ourselves?
I have always been committed to a life that recognizes that my every action affects the lives of others – either positively OR negatively. Lying in the hospital bed this spring gave me a lot of time to evaluate how true I was being to my philosophy. There is always room for improvement. But the bottom line is that a life lived without commitment to your core philosophy is a life without deep meaning. It is easy talking about the way you would LIKE to see things in the world. But mankind has been TALKING for centuries. If you have a vision of the way you would like to see the world – YOU MUST LIVE THAT VISION. The first thing we all need to do is to define our personal philosophy. A good place to start that process is in your garden. Walking that path. Looking at the interconnection of all around you. Thinking about how your actions affect your garden.
I have already started to get seed catalogs and, yes, I have already started to plan my garden for next year! I close my eyes and can almost see the first seeds poking up through the soil. I can almost smell the first hyacinth that comes up just behind my early crocuses. There is a robin that I swear I recognize from last year. I will plant more, care for it even more diligently, try a few new varieties and tend to its every need. I will walk its path more frequently. And in walking its path, I will walk the inner path that hopefully will lead me to a life even more committed to those beliefs I hold so dear. I will LIVE my philosophy!
MERRY CHRISTMAS my friends. This year has truly been “the best of times”!
Dr. Tomato