Quiet times

The expression "if the world gives you lemons, make lemonade" is a great one.

Sometimes it's in the moments when we're forced to take time out that we are given the examples of this.

Today was one such day. Pushing to get the joint book launch under wraps caused the need to take time out for a daytime sleep. The best part of that was the luxury of time out during the day when there's Winter sunshine and a feeling of absolute tranquillity. 

Upon waking late morning to a lightly overcast sky, visible through the partly open blinds, left a feeling of tranquillity and a sense that everything was right with the world. 

It lead to the thought of family that live on a hill that overlooks the surrounding farmland. The farm itself has that sense of tranquillity and healing ever since I was a child.

Being aware that the beauty  surrounding their home can be also seen as a lot of work, says the lifestyle comes with a price.

Some years ago it was said, partly in jest, that a farmer is never without something to do. Experience has shown this to be true. Having spent time on two farms that have spectacular outlooks it is always deeply moving to spend time soaking up not only the view, but also the whole experience of the countryside. The countryside stimulates all the senses.

The smell of rain falling on dry ground, freshly worked soil at seeding. The smell of the crop or stubble after harvest. The profound silence that becomes a chorus of birds, or thunder, or rain on an iron roof. The damp breeze that says that Summer is done and Autumn is coming. The warmth and later heat of the sun warming then later making one grateful for a cool place. 

The taste of early morning dew on the tongue as another days work begins, often not long after sunrise.

Many thousands of experiences flowed through my mind this morning with the passage of the Winter morning.

The love of the land and wide open spaces is something that never leaves those who have spent any amount of time there, particularly if it was childhood.

On my vision board is a home on a hill surrounded by those wide open spaces and it's just a matter of time before it becomes a reality.

The lot of the farming community is largely misunderstood. The work is hard and demanding and sometimes unrelenting. It also provides a sense of satisfaction when the job is complete and there's time for a short break.

As one farmer said after last years harvest he probably take time out as it would take too much to get going again. Knowing this man as I have for almost sixty years, I find that hard to believe.

One thing I do know is that living and working in that environment develops a wonderful sense of humour, a sense of the ridiculous and that capacity to live and work another day.

Bob's Sunset December 21, 2010