Empathy, Knowledge, Wisdom

Empathy, Knowledge, Wisdom.

There come times when we have to make a choice between what is right, and what is easy. Our good intentions alone are not enough, for it is in our actions where we make the most impact. During these decisions, we must reflect what we hope to accomplish. We alone must bare the responsibility for our actions, therefore; we must choose wisely.

When striving to impact the world, we must find a way to create connect to the world. “Empathy is the first step in any design model” said Lonny Grafman when opening my first day of Appropriate Technology Engineering class. He then gave us a visual of the design process in which empathy was the tool to build knowledge, which together grows collective wisdom.

Empathy is the first step in connection which leads to meaningful impact within our actions. Apathy for those we do not yet have connection to may be so profound, for apathy is easy. Apathy allows us to stand by as injustices are set before us, which gives us a sense of powerlessness. Powerlessness lets us off the hook because it shifts our understanding of our actions to an external locus of control when truly we always have an internal locus of control. Empathy is the choice we make to override this powerlessness. It gives us power to act and to connect and act upon the injustices played out before us.

How do we grow our empathy for those we do not intrinsically connect to?

Exposure and interaction.

My exposure to farm work has built my understanding of food production by a tenfold. It has also grown my curiosity for different plants and processes. A love for raw foods picked strait from the garden has evolved where prior to garden work, I would have never sought out such foods. Exposure to environmentally degrading farm practices however has sought me to research different farming processes. Exposures to environmentally thriving processes have sought me to implement such practices in other places such as my own garden. Interacting with dirt, plants, water and sunshine have created a greater appreciation for these natural processes and the magic they bloom. Empathy with these natural processes has grown so much to where I can say the thing I love most in the world is dirt. When I die and my body becomes ash, I wish to be spread in a garden for microbes and worms to live in me. I wish for flowers to bloom in me and Brussel sprouts to be picked upon my ashes. My body will thus transform into a vessel of growth.

Growing on empathy, I still seek knowledge. Researching further knowledge of a worldwide agricultural system, leads me to act upon the injustices of the food system. Food justice has thus become a focus of righteous actions in which I strive to seek through monetary choices, research, and my job at an organic farm. Furthering food justice action, I wish to share my understanding and knowledge with others. I have the opportunity to do so with the Pacific Union School’s Garden Project which was handed to me by having a senior capstone service learning project.

It’s almost impossible to imagine what kind of impact the children of Pacific Union School gain from a school garden because I was never exposed to gardening as a child. How do I interact with a group of kids I have never met, and how will I be able to plan activities which teach them about food justice? I have absolutely no idea, and this thought is rather daunting.

What keeps me going when acting in righteousness is scary and the future ahead is nothing but daunting?

Death and Dirt.

Death is always lurking around the corner. You never know when it will take you and when it does, will you be ready? I have faced death several times and felt no fear. Fear of death comes from a lack of a fulfilled life. Every day I seek fulfillment through dirt, so I am ready. Death in this way is used as a tool to act in ways to which if you died tomorrow, you would know you did the best you could and lived in ways to which you were thriving.

The last time I faced death I had a fulfilled day. I threw vessels on my pottery wheel which grows understanding of balance, form, function and stillness which is a metaphor for how to live life outside pottery. My friend and I then went foraging for mushrooms. This seeks knowledge of interactions between different trees and soils to find where different mushrooms grow which I think is magical practical knowledge as it relates to food sovereignty. After, we went to the beach so he could ride the tide on his surf board while I wandered the coasts sandy shores and climbed the rocky cliffs. All of this was beautiful. In life I seek out beauty because it calms my mind and connects me to the wonders of our world. Once the sun was setting we decided to run across the freeway to check for mushrooms under the birch trees that only grew on the other side. As we were running I fell in front of an oncoming semi-truck, like a deer stuck in headlights, I paused to get up. My friend afterwards was full panic because I was bleeding from both knees and he felt fear of my death. I however, felt no fear, for the day had been lived in fulfillment of my dirt filled day. Death is coming and we must be ready.

The ripple effects of ones actions are what will live on when death takes you. What ripples do you wish to create and how may that drive the actions you wish to pursue? I choose to ripple out my love for dirt through others, such as these children of Pacific Union, so that they too may find a love for dirt. I can only strive to create empathy between the garden and the children so that when they grow to make their own decisions on food, they can choose the path that is just, not only what is easy.