Posted in Family Life
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We've been members of various CSA farms for seven summers now (not consecutively). This is the first summer I have worked as a member. At the beginning of the summer, I thought, Sure, this is great... no big deal. After a month and a half, I thought, Wow, this is a lot of work for the discount. At the end of July, I thought, This has been a good experience, but I don't think I'll do it again next summer. And now, with two weeks left, I'm thinking that I really need these people-- the other working members. They sharpen me. It has been a wonderful experience. Though we are all very different, the members with whom I work are all what I'd call "radicals." I don't mean that in a jump-in-and-join-the-commune kind of way. I mean that they make the effort to live in accordance with what they believe. Last week, after the truck was packed to distribute the shares, we members sat around and split garlic heads into cloves for planting. We sat in a little circle and talked about music in contemporary culture and education. One of the members is a composer (who actually supports his family by composing classical music); another is a bass player, though they can't live off her music. We had a dentist, a retired teacher, a homemaker with grown children, a graduate student, and myself. These are all people who live "unusual" lives. I like to tell people that our family is trying hard not to get back on the gerbil wheel of life. All these other farm members-- though our politics and faiths diverge-- help me to see the value in living an unusual life. They have looked at the issues and formed opinions (about local food, the Wall Street bailout, or listening to Aerosmith) and they live in accordance with their beliefs. I think that's pretty unusual. And I am encouraged by their example to live in accordance with my beliefs. When I was younger, I often fell pray to the sophism that-- although I knew what the right way (or at least, the better way) was-- it was too much trouble (or too radical) to live that way. Now I am learning that, be it difficult or not, I need to live like I believe... no matter what the Joneses think about it. |
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