Finding PEACE on the Farm
“Peace is knowing that you’re doing exactly what you should be doing at any particular moment.” This is how Farmer Ryan describes what peace looks like on the farm.
How many times have you felt that twinge of anxiety because you haven’t prioritized well? You’re in the middle of making dinner and remember the laundry waiting to be folded on the table. Or you might be mowing the lawn, but the weeds around the house are atrocious. What is the most important thing? What should I do first? This anxiety does not enrich one’s life. It causes us to avoid certain tasks as well as further stress. How can you seek peace in the midst of that? And why is it so important to find it?
Ryan began pursuing peace in his daily life by being confident in his priorities, and doing whatever he set out to do with purpose. “One of the helpful things as you endeavor to live a peaceful life is to not multitask and but be focused and fully engaged with whatever you’re doing, whether that’s work, rest, or building relationships.” Multitasking may seem efficient in the short term, but long term, “we suffer for it.” By never being totally focused on one thing at a time, you’ll be churning out subpar results and be more behind than ever. “Engaging in a peaceful, wholehearted manner, is the only way we are going to be effective. It’s the only way we are going to truly serve people well.” And that’s the ultimate goal.
But you can’t be at peace without being realistic. And the reality is, we humans are limited in what we can accomplish. By respecting those limits, we can avoid burnout, stress, and anxiety, and begin to live with purpose and freedom. You can’t do it all, and that’s okay! Therein lies the freedom to be at peace. Below is part of a conversation I had with Farmer Ryan on the importance of peace and how to find it every day.
How do you experience this day to day? What are some things that bring you peace?
“Some things that bring me peace are face-to-face conversations - whether on the Thursday deliveries or hosting the Saturday morning farm pickup at home, where we get to interact with 40+ people every week. Having conversations, building relationships, and watching connections form between other customers - those things are intensely satisfying for me, as well as being able to facilitate that kind of positivity.” Ryan also mentioned finding peace in the satisfaction of stewarding both time and resources well.
That's great, but not everyone lives on a farm! How can we experience peace in our working lives?
We have no advantage over others in finding peace at work just because we work on a farm. “The biggest thing in any person’s relationship with their work is to know the why. Why is the work you're doing important? Why does it matter? How can you make a positive impact through your work on the people around you or the people your work affects?
“Engaging fully with your work is another important thing.” This can be so hard when your job is not something you enjoy or are passionate about, but “there are few jobs where you wouldn’t have the opportunity to impact people through your work,” Ryan says. Seeing the big picture, beyond yourself, is where you’ll begin to find that peace.
Any other thoughts on peace?
People at peace will influence others around them. “If we can cultivate peace in our own lives we will impact others without even trying. And in today’s world, where thousands of people are struggling with anxiety and depression, living with peace has never been more important.”