Written by Celine Louie
In this much too busy world we tend to wear way too many hats- often stacked so high up on our heads that we forget that we are in fact only one person- and life itself, should be much simpler than we allow it to be.
These days, the rush of our modern way of living often prevents us from seeing the bigger picture- let us be reminded that not so long ago we lived a very different life- our sense of connection was strong, as we navigated life working together as one community. Extended families and neighbours worked together to share the everyday living chores from sun-up to sun-down. Those many hats were shared around evenly to spread the load- our heads were much lighter then.
Of recent times there has been a strong focus on becoming self-sufficient, a mean feat in itself, made almost unachievable given the amount of hats already balanced so precariously on our overloaded heads!
But there is so much pleasure to be found in the garden, and if ever we needed to find a place to slow down, feeling the moist earth between our fingers and immersing ourselves in nature is the perfect medicine needed in this messy chaotic world we find ourselves in.
The good news is self-sufficiency is achievable by us all, regardless of the colour of our thumbs or the knowledge that we start with, for we all come armed with the ability to do better in some avenues of life than others- and therein lies the key to self-sufficiency.
By changing the definition of ‘self’, and extending it out to those that surround us- friends, neighbours and family, we bring ourselves back to the village mentality, for we too have the ability to support ourselves and others by working together as one.
Whilst some have the ability to grow the most abundant gardens, let’s remember to take our hats off to those that are slightly less adept, for even if your strength lies in magically sprouting gluts of un-intended tomatoes in your suburban compost bin, or your brown thumb gives rise to a brute strength that can swing a shovel like there’s no tomorrow, you too can be part of the self-sufficient village- for it is a community open to all, no matter how green (or brown) your thumb may be. You just need to join.
So rather than adding another hat to our overloaded heads, let’s all gather our communities and meet under the communal Farmers Hat, harnessing our strengths and tapping into our human nature that dictates that we do best by sharing and working alongside one another, for we wear enough other hats in our daily lives already.
As our stack of hats get higher and higher, perhaps this is a good time for us all to evaluate which ones we really need to wear on our heads and which ones we are willing to share, rather than waiting for them all to come toppling down from the pressures of trying to do it all alone.
Nice hat, by the way, can I wear it too?