Reading to Accompany this post: “Economy and Pleasure” from What Matters? By Wendell Berry
After my first three-day week at Nightfall Farm, I took the time to process and consider the intricacies of what I was learning through the practice of farming under Liz and Nate. I think we all recognize farming as hard work, but this week, I began to see it as HARD work. Carrying 50 pound bags of feed, trekking back and forth from opposite ends of the farm, building fences, and many other things, left my body feeling exhausted. Despite my body feeling so tired, my spirit felt more in-tune with the world around me than it had in a while. And when I looked at Liz and Nate, two people who do this hard work every day of the week, they may have seemed tired, but there was also a pride that kept them illuminated.
How is that possible? How is it that this truly difficult work leaves you feeling refreshed despite the aching muscles and sleepy eyes from early mornings? I think the answers to these questions come simply by listening to Liz and Nate talk about the farm. Each task comes along with a reason behind it, and the reason is always somehow rooted in their beliefs. Building a fence and moving the chickens around for rotational grazing was an act that I knew was beneficial in theory, but later on, when Nate pointed out a square of extra lush, dark green grass where the chickens had been previously, I realized the land is truly benefiting from this. It isn’t just a concept, it’s a physical reaction. The land shows visual signs of growth, and hearing Liz and Nate talk about this shows why they go the extra mile to run their farm in these special ways.
Wendell Berry says that “for human beings, affection is the ultimate motive,” and he goes even further to connect this to “pleasure” or “affection in action.” Spending time on the farm reaffirmed this sentiment. By eavesdropping on the conversations between farmers and creatures, it is easy to pick out these moments of affection. To hear them address each sheep by name, it becomes clear why this hard work is so worthwhile. It comes from a place of ensuring a high quality of life for the animals as well as improving the quality of life for the land they live on and for themselves.
In today’s world, we are all acutely aware of how our actions are affecting the environment and the earth’s quality of life. We see big, uncomfortable changes happening just for the sake of our own comfort and convenience. This being said, I think we often try to make positive impact out of a feeling of guilt. We feel guilty for fueling factory farming, for using too much plastic, for driving to places we could have easily walked to. But, I don’t think action brought upon by guilt is productive. Instead, I think it’s worthwhile to approach it from, as Berry says, a place of affection and pleasure. What if, instead of pursuing a plant-based diet out of guilt, we instead did it because of our affection towards animals who are suffering? Instead of seeing recycling as something we do out of obligation, what if we did it because we love riding down backroads and not seeing a sea of plastic overtaking the ditches? Or, what if we walked for the sake of experiencing the world around us in a way we can’t when it only flashes by our window?
Affection may not be the solution, but I do think it’s a step in the right direction. Maybe it’s naïve or silly to think love is the answer, but I do believe we would have a harder time mistreating something if we first learned to love it. We are all taking steps to prevent our negative impact, but I think it’s worthwhile to frame this in the sense of taking steps to ensure our positive impact. It’s worthwhile to see ourselves as giving beings as opposed to the ones taking away because, while we are no doubt harmful in ways, we also have the capacity to heal.