We live in a world that emphasizes quick returns, immediate gratification. This is true despite the fact that most research shows the value in the opposite. Slow growth, and delayed gratification lead to greater long term results. Not only does it pay off better in the long run, but it also gives you the time to value your returns.
So no, don’t be that concerned about whether or not people find you, your writing, your blog, your podcast, your website or your business. You might like to have a larger impact because you have just enough hubris to believe that you’re bringing something important to the world. And with this belief comes a sense of responsibility that you can and should be doing all that you can. However, you must also know that every day that passes, you improve your skills. This is as true of your writing skills as it is of your permaculture skills as it is of your leadership and entrepreneurial skills.
The way I see it, the longer you go without being found, the more honed your skillset will be once they arrive. And this, will prove to be a sustainable way to keeping more people and creating a bit of a movement for the long-term. If you have long enough, you can create something sicky enough to keep them once you get something appealing enough that draws them in. With a little luck and some divine intervention (and of course some faith) the draw and the stick will align just right.
It’s tempting, of course, in a world that is sprinting towards a precipice, to think and feel that you need to get out there right away and do everything you can. Honestly, that struggle will not go away. It is not something that is easily mastered; this slow growth idea. But it is the better long-term strategy. A knee jerk reaction and quick solution is unlikely to be one that has lasting power. There are many aspects, to be sure, that are being overlooked as we speak. What is our current predicament if not a shining example of unintended consequences from ingenious solutions.
If you’re asking me if I honestly believe that Permaculture has the power to change our dystopian direction, then my answer is yes I do. I believe, and think it to be quite proven, that is has the power to sink enough carbon, ameliorate our soil degradation, reverse the 6th mass extinction, replenish biodiversity, diminish catastrophic weather events, green the deserts, stabilize climate refugees, feed the hungry and house the homeless. The warming and acidification of the oceans are a little further downstream, but will also be greatly improved, if not entirely solved with this system.
Those issues, I don’t think are hard to understand as being solvable through permaculture. But, it’s all for naught if we cannot heal the connection between planet and person. We must find a way to see ourselves as a part of nature instead of apart from nature. Only then, will we be able to shift our economy from exploiting the planet to growing with it.
And that shift? That leap? That’s one that is going to need some time, some finesse and some patience. It may, though I hope not, even require a lot more suffering and pain before people truly hop on board. The shift in consciousness has begun, the regeneration is at hand, its slowly gathering momentum, like a whisper in the wind, promising of a new, hopeful future.
We aren’t ready for it just yet, but we’re getting there. I’ll be patiently waiting, biding my time and sharpening my skills, so that when you do come find us, I’ll be that much better equipped to do my part.
Stay Fun Farms 