A Reflection on Time

Does anyone feel like they blinked and the summer was over? 

More than once this season I joked with our stewards (our 'stewards' are our summer intern program team-members, here with us for just 5 months) that the summer is like a ball rolling down a hill - it starts off slowly but quickly gains speed the further it travels. 

Our summer farming "season" runs from May 1st to October 1st each year. 

I remember a few years ago, when I was a steward, the month of May felt long. Not because I didn't enjoy it, but because everything was new. 

Once we hit June, my team and I had a broader knowledge base and a greater sense of routine. Not surprisingly, June went by much more quickly. 

As I chatted with our crew about this past summer, many of them agreed that each successive month (of their five months here) seemed to go by more quickly than the last! 

What is it about the human condition that makes us feel like time goes by slowly or quickly? We don't gain or lose a minute regardless of how we feel. 

Everyone has the same amount of time in their day....but how we choose to spend it differs widely.  

This season, the stewards spent time moving broilers, tending to pigs, processing hundreds of chickens, building structures, making hay, and working with cows - just to name a few things! 

As I reflect on our summer season, I am challenged by this thought: "Am I putting my time where my values are?"

Are we as a society rushing around trying to keep on top of things that feel urgent yet neglecting the important things - the things that really matter to us? 

This is no easy paradigm shift. Often, it takes a series of painful "no's" (to things that are often good) so we can say "yes" to things that are better. 

As the days get shorter and nature invites us to slow down, let's take an inventory of where we are spending our time; it truly is our most valuable resource. 

- Melissa