This Is Not Just About Food, Farming And Our Planet
G'Day Folks,
There is a man who has a good heart, he has developed passionate beliefs about his health, the health of our land and the food we eat. He wants to grow ethical, nutritional food with deep respect for the land and the animals. He has put his entire life savings into those beliefs. His family have been uprooted from their old life and moved away from family and friends to pursue these beliefs. This man works long hours, so does his wife. When you ask them when they last had a day off, they laugh, not to mock you, but just at how hilarious that question has now become.
They're running out of money, and their stamina, whilst inspirational, is running out of steam. There is no doubt what they are doing is a good thing, you'll be hard pressed to find any negatives. So why is it so damn hard, what's wrong with their beliefs? There is nothing wrong with their beliefs, it's just that not enough people believe in them strongly enough to support them.
It is the loss of our values that saddens me, it's that this story clearly illustrates we as a society have lost sight of what really matters deep down. The things that make our life irresistibly easy and comfortable come with a very high price tag. What price do we put on being a part of a community that cherishes the connection between each other, our food, the soil and ultimately our future.
It brings me sadness when I think of a world that no longer values human connection, where it is no longer necessary to connect with each other. A world where everything we could ever dream of wanting or needing can be made in a faceless factory somewhere else at a much cheaper price and delivered to our door by humanless drones. A world where we barely have to leave our home or gated community because it is much easier and safer to switch on our virtual headsets and distract ourselves endlessly in Mark Zuckerberg's meta verse.
Connection in our communities arrives spontaneously when there is a necessity, in times of crisis there is no shortage of stories demonstrating how quickly we humans rally around each other. Though once the necessity evaporates, we slowly but surely retreat back into our colorbond caves. Sure, I can find lots of examples where communities form without necessity, there you will find special humans who connect people through the love and passion of their hearts. But these forms of communities take effort, what is not necessary takes will power. But we have an ever increasing world of TikTok like distractions and Amazon like conveniences luring us away, away from each other, away from what gives our lives true meaning.
Roughly 3 years ago now, myself and my family were sitting down around the table at Mum and Dads carport having a cuppa. This is the usual family gathering place for solving the world's problems, and where Mum also hangs out the washing. We were asking ourselves what we thought was special about Sohip, as we pondered this thought, a beautiful small bird called a Grey Shrike-Thrush was doing its usual routine devouring all of the crumbs that have fallen from our mouths as we inhaled some cake between sips of our cuppa. Then, almost unanimously, we shouted “Connnection!” (Shouting is a must if you want to be heard at our family gatherings). We all realised then and there this is what made Sohip special and since then we have constantly been thinking of ways to deepen this connection. One of those ideas was this newsletter! We have many more ideas than hours in the day, but as we grow our team we are starting to see the potential for more of that connection we value so deeply.
