Yesterday I met Kindred, one of the largest horses I have ever seen, grazing for hours on grass with not a care in the world. He didn't have to worry about making a living as he was supported by an incredible community that was clear on his contributions to the health of the farm and the greater community.
Some days it is good for each of us to go experience something totally different than what we are used to. I found myself at Sustainable Settings, which owns the 244-acre historic Thompson Creek Ranch where they operate a working ranch and Whole Systems Learning Center in Colorado.
Thanks to wonderful friends, I stumbled in at the end of their 3-day workshop to experience biodynamic farming. I walked in on a group of people who just met and found the most amazing team of people learning and creating together. There were tasks to be done and people simply organically did them with the most amazing joy. There was a respect for everything and everyone that I didn't see traveling through the Chicago airport the previous day. The storm that came while we were out in the field was welcomed with native drumming and an appreciation. No one ran for cover. Everyone continued to create what they were creating.
Harvesting nature’s intelligence is their value at Sustainable Settings . It got me thinking about our need for more human intelligence these days and what we can learn from nature. A curiosity brought a group of 16 people together to learn with nature. I have never seen a team form this quickly, apart for my trip to Nicaragua a few months ago. The relationships that were formed were very deep and the communication flowed. Everyone started to understand the natural pace of learning and growing. People cared about where things came from and what they put back into nature.
Over a biodynamic meal, I learned so much about how much thought needs to be given to the food we consume. Brook Levan, the co-founder, shared his immense wisdom, and pulled out the biodynamic sowing and planting calendar, now in its 56th year. This guide shows the optimum days for sowing, pruning and harvesting various plants and crops, as well as working with bees. He shared that there are phases of the moon that are more beneficial for planting or harvesting, and there are optimal dates and times are for applying Biodynamic preparations.
Can you imagine what would happen if we treated business more naturally in how we brought teams together? or how we understood growth cycles beyond a spreadsheet or an online tool? What would happen if we had a holistic approach and followed the natural cycles and seasons of life? Would only 13% of employees be engaged in their work? Would trust increase because we saw the importance of trust, relationships and community?
We have abundant opportunities, and every day is one to rebuild and shift our mindset from a world of problems and scarcity to one of creating and co-creating opportunities.
When was the last time you truly changed your environment and experienced ancient wisdom that is just waiting to be discovered and respected?
There is nothing new under the sun. “Whoever seeks higher knowledge must create it for himself. He must instil it into his soul. It cannot be done by study; it can only be done through life. Whoever, therefore, wishes to become a student of higher knowledge must assiduously cultivate this inner life of devotion. Everywhere in his environment and his experiences he must seek motives of admiration and homage. If I meet a man and blame him for his shortcomings, I rob myself of power to attain higher knowledge; but if I try to enter lovingly into his merits, I gather such power. The student must continually be intent upon following this advice. The spiritually experienced know how much they owe to the circumstance that in face of all things they ever again turn to the good, and withhold adverse judgement. But this must not remain an external rule of life; rather it must take possession of our innermost soul.” ― Rudolf Steiner, How to Know Higher Worlds