Farm News
I’m a Yes-kind of person. Early on in my Suzie’s Farm career, I wrote a blog post called The Answer Is Always Yes. It opened the door to many opportunities, meetings, engagements and relationships. It felt a little crazy at times, like the plates were wobbling, like the train was careening off the tracks but it was fun and adventurous and worth it. Life felt full of purpose and mission. I believed it then. I still believe in Yes. Saying Yes to Life is what the farm does.
We plant the seeds in the ground. The soil receives the seeds. The soil says Yes. We water the seeds. The seeds receive the water. The seeds say Yes. The Sun warms the Earth. The warmth causes the seed to germinate and reach its fragile leaf-wings toward the light. The sprout says yes. The leaves broaden and expand, acting as satellite dishes reaching toward the rays of the Sun. The leaves say Yes. The plant unravels and unfurls, roots reach and ground. The plant says Yes. A green bud appears and blossoms. A bee pollinates. The flower says Yes. Fruit emerges, develops, and ripens. The fruit says Yes. We come and see that it is good. We harvest the fruit. We say Yes.
At no point in the process does the plant say No. At. No. Point.
The plant, seed, ground, water, earth, sun, sky never say No. They only say Yes. They have a purpose and a mission; to generate more life. The plant does not grow to create only one of itself. A cauliflower, if left to seed, will spawn thousands of seeds − thousands of opportunities for Life.
They do not get discouraged, even in the face of weeds or infestations or lack of water or heat. They persevere. They may slow down. They may wilt. They may wither. But they say Yes and continue to grow, to fulfill their mission, though stunted and weak, until they expire.
Do we give such a determined, deliberate and vigorous Yes? Or do we waver and waffle? I’m not sure. Maybe. I don’t think so. Let me check. That doesn’t sound like me. I would never do something like that. No.
What if you said Yes? Where could you say Yes? Where does it feel uncomfortable? What do you overthink? Where do you need more Yes in your life?
Perhaps it has been my folly to say Yes. I certainly have said a Hearty Yes to many things and sometimes to too many things. But as I started to say No, I felt less Life in my life. Was I saying no to protect myself? Conceivably. I know now, after a season of No, that I feel more myself, more authentic, more alive, when I say Yes.
Sometimes I wilt. Occasionally I wither. I slow down. I languish and wane. The power is in the perseverance. The energy is in the comeback. The strength is in the Yes. Yes.
- Lucila de Alejandro, organic farmer, Suzie’s Farm
