WWOOFing Chronicles - Tenth Week Poise

As I am gathering skills and experiencing many new situations, there is an euphoric sense of growth and purpose.

This week, I have been receiving too much attention, too much trust, too much praise. Even April, the stubborn, unpredictable horse is treating me with respect and is cooperatively following my orders. In the fields, Marco and I have been working very efficiently, the farming was late on schedule, we managed to make it so we are slightly ahead of schedule. Efficient coordination of efforts, the proper balance of initiative and caution, a silently shared trial, silently shared satisfaction after work well done. It was supposed to take three days to get the permaculture garden back in shape, he did it one. It was supposed to take two days to plant the amount of potatoes I planted in an afternoon. It was supposed to take several days to sow the seeds we got ready in the greenhouse in a scorching afternoon.

A few nights ago, John, enthusiastic with my capacity to teach him philosophy, organized a "philosophical evening" I was to lead. The next evening, I talked and talked, they listened, took notes, some faces lit up, most seemed deep in thought. At the same time, Tom was improvising on oriental scales with his flute. Then, I listened to them, gave them metaphors, fables, parables and aphorisms to back up or nuance their ideas. We shared laughs, sighs and respect until very late at night.

It is all simply intoxicating. The six young Swedish carpenters left. Men separated by age, language, background, were hugging, dancing, singing, sharing warmth for hour upon hour. We were all filled with a Dyonisiac sense of immediacy. Nietszche makes much more sense all of a sudden.

Is it Spring?

People never really deeply change, I have simply been exposed to new situations. The events we experience reveal aspects of who we are. We are not our minds separated from the physical world. Our minds adapt to the what our senses pick up from what surrounds us. Imbalances are sometimes increased, other times reduced. Many parameters have an influence : season, weather, age, food, people around us, house we are living in, sounds around us, amount of sleep, type of food, physical activity, natural cycles, music listened to earlier, conversations recently involved in, etc.

Finding balance brings poise.