So, I am on this sustainability "kick".
I don't mean to be glib, but at first it felt so perfectly delightful to say sustainability was my goal, as if the very words made all things pure and oh so right. I got all pumped up after hearing some well- versed speakers share the topic at a sustainable ag symposium I recently attended. It is a lovely green concept and everyone's buzz word in the farming business.
"Sustainability...let's all do it!"
(It's sort of like when my daughter decided to go all organic and everything, not just her food, had to be organic; make up, cleaners, clothing, bedding, organic cat litter for the all-organic cat poop. I imagined my future toe-headed grandkids running around barefoot in 100% organic flour sack tunics.)
But words are just words.
It's the actions that make sustainability work and let me tell you, it ain't easy.
In case you didn't get that...IT AIN'T EASY!
For instance, I have recently adopted a "no-till" stance for my garden beds. Mulch and cover crops take the place of incorporating man's invention that changed the course of history...aka the tractor. (Alright, so I don't even have a tractor, but I was thinking of getting one and even checking out Craigslist on a daily basis.) Instead I saved myself some money and spared my dirt from being over-worked and over-tilled, depleting all its nutrients. My back is now screaming for synthetic pharmaceuticals from all the hard manual labor removing the sod by hand and digging my soil down deep. The end result is a gorgeous garden bed I can be proud of but, gotta say, this journey is HARD. Those vegetables better grow, or else.
I will continue doing the sustainability "thing", but I may go kicking and screaming.
I may have to convince myself from time to time it's the right thing to do when no one but me is here to get it all done. (The dogs could really care less.)
Those well-versed speakers have been there...they know it is hard, back breaking and tough. No one wants to hear that, so they just don't mention it.
(No kidding, everyone would get up and walk out on them.)
Like anything worth having, it's well worth the effort and, like I've taught my children, it builds character to accomplish a goal with hard work. The end result is more than a mere buzz word, it is a way of life that is better for everyone on this earth.
...Just pass me the pharmaceuticals from time to time.
