I want to live in a farm
DN : I want to live in a farm.
PS: You only keep saying this, since many many years but I haven’t seen you working towards it.
DN : How true? Is money the only requirement to farm? Not at all. I know head or tail about farming. I have not even planted one plant in a pot in my life yet. My desires are just in the tip of my tongue. Let me first desire. Let me learn something first.
Children were with akka at Tiruppur. I had a lot of time, so I saw a lot of videos on YouTube about farming, homesteading, food forest, permaculture, do nothing farming, square foot garden, zero budget farming etc., I was highly inspired. Just then I got reminded about my mother’s front yard of 600square foot inside our home in Tiruppur. ( since January I am living with my parents because of COVID 19 Lockdown). Here is where, I saw my ego of wanting to own. Ownership is just an illusion. Nobody owns anything, even their ownself. What is my own self? Is it this body? Did I create? No. Is it the soul, I call it Me? Did I create? No. So who am I? Am I God or nothing?
So I am letting go of my need to own a farm to do farming. The whole world is our farm. God has given us in abundance to Enjoy. I am going to Enjoy farming.
The moment I had these thoughts, the doors to my dreams opened and invited me warmly. God said, you just dream, believe, wish….. The universe will conspire your dreams.
Out of nowhere a friend who is not from Coimbatore, who is not from a farming background sent me a poster of Thangavel ayya’s work and learn farming for free program in Coimbatore. Which is only few minutes away from where I live.
I felt as though God carried me in his palms, flew up in the air and dropped me at Ayya’s farm in his loving care.
Meanwhile when I spoke to Prabu about my dreams about farming that I started to cultivate. Seeing me watch videos of farming, talk about farming to friends over phone, write journals about it, he asked, ‘do you want to visit my friend’s farm? He was so happy to take me there. We spoke a lot, observed a lot at his friend’s farm.
While coming back. DN – I thought you only like city life. I never thought you will agree on living in a farm.
PS – I respect you and your dreams as well, so I took you. But I am not sure of living in a farm right away ( Prabu is a passionate photographer, who quit his auditing background to become a photographer). You ponder your dreams. Even I like being in a farm, but not now, let’s see.
I highly respect prabu and his dreams. So for now, I am going to desire, dream, wish, learn how to farm. And will flow with God’s plan.
I called up amma. She was more than happy to say yes for a vegetable patch in the front yard. (Already there were a few vegetables planted).
I had met Thangavel ayya 3 years back at LSUC, Bangalore. I had always been wanting to visit him and be in his presence but did not happen. Ayya and his team of volunteers we’re extremely happy to have my daughter (Thanvi, almost 7 years) and I come there daily to learn organic farming.
It is not a blackboard and chalk program. You learn as you do. Your questions are your curriculum. Just like how Thanvi learns the world ( she is being unschooled). The first sentence that Ayya uttered was, farming is all about OBSERVATION and EXPLORATION and anybody can farm. I was spell bound. This is the same mantra I have heard from John Holt, Sir Ken Robinson, Jinan KB and my other gurus on education. There is a learning in everything and the route is observation and exploration.
Ayya not only taught me farming but also what life is? All these years I was trying to do yoga, meditation, journaling etc in order to calm my mind and gain focus. Here I was doing not being. As I farm, I didn’t need the help of these tools (yoga, mediation, journal) to connect and sync my mind, body and soul. I was able to connect myself to the rhythm of nature by just being. This is the very first time I felt this. Serene oneness with universe.
I was striving to achieve these in a fast life. Whereas these are the prerequisites of a farm life.
The volunteers at the farm taught me so much about farm and life. They inspired me. The curiosity in their eyes twinkled. Their understanding of nature at this very young age warmed my heart.
I had to move to tiruppur the next day. Was a bit heavy to leave. That’s when Hari’s (GothaHariPriya sister from another womb. A Life coach) words came as a reminder. ‘Akka, as you always say, everyone is one and same, all of us are one. Then you are Thangavel ayya also, whatever that you want to know is within you as well. Not only ayya’s knowledge, all our forefathers knowledge is vested in your soul, just explore within’. What better way to bid but for now?.
I moved to Trippur and I have started to tend to the 600 sqft patch. I am planning to document my farming journey on my Instagram stories. The intention is not that I know something. The intention I want to learn from all of you. This is my favorite route. The day I wrote my first blog, the day I published my first minimalism course poster, I didn’t know what I know today. I learnt by doing, this vulnerability taught me a lot of things.
Another key area I want to learn is cooking. I shall publish my cooking (raw, vegan, conservative and conscious cooking) trials as well. Please help me learn.
You learn only by DOING.
It’s been almost 2 month since this idea of farming vested in me.
I thought I am going to learn farming, but I come to know that I am learning about ME.