Fun Activities to Avoid Zoom Fatigue

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been spending a lot of time on Zoom recently. It has been a great way to stay connected with friends while staying safe. But especially after the holidays, Zoom fatigue is real. 

I often find it hard to commit to talking with friends on Zoom/Facetime because it seems like such an energy commitment, and I never know if it’ll be worth it. When you're on several video calls a day, it can be exhausting, even if you are excited about who you're talking to.

One thing that I’ve found helpful is to have activities to do during our call. That way, it is something that we can look forward to. Instead of having the same conversations about what we’re doing or not doing because of the pandemic, we can make memories together. Here are some of the activities I've been doing:

Games

•  GeoGuessr- you get dropped somewhere in the world on google maps streetview. Easy to do on Zoom if one person does it and shares their screen.
  
• Skribbl- just like pictionary. It gives you a word and you draw it, others guess. 
• Scattergories- Same as regular scattergories, great game for people who are good at thinking fast.
• Code Names-A guessing game where you’re assigned roles and have to get specific people to guess words. Requires four people. 
• Make your own trivia/jeopardy game. One of my coworkers does a weekly Zoom with friends and each week someone different makes a trivia game based on a topic of their choosing.

  

  Games
  

  Other Activities 

If you're running out of games to play together, try learning a new skill together!

• Crocheting- it’s actually really easy to learn basic stitches. You can all work on the same patterns and share your projects over several calls. Also a great activity for when you’re watching TV or listening to a podcast or audiobook. 
• Learn a language- challenge your friends to do a call in another language.
• Cook or bake together- I used to often bake with friends, which I don’t do anymore during the pandemic. However, we still love sharing recipes. If you share a recipe in advance so everyone can get the ingredients, you can all cook the same thing during your video call. 
• Book Club- Works the same as a normal book club, choose a book then meet to discuss (either chapter by chapter or the whole book). Also fun to do with poetry or children’s books if hard to find time for everyone to read. 
• Podcast Club- Similar to book club, but choose a podcast to listen to each week before you meet so you can discuss it. 
• Writing Group- Great way to dedicate time to your writing and get feedback. Could structure it so many different ways, maybe you all write during your meeting, or maybe you bring a certain amount of writing to each meeting and share it with others. Fun to do with poetry, short stories, books you’re writing, essays, or even blog posts! 
• Watch a movie together. Someone can share their screen, or do Netflix Party or similar.
  

I would love to hear your ideas too. Please share in the comments, always looking for new ideas!

Ableism In Yoga

 

            When I recently listened to the Yoga is Dead Podcast episode “Vegans killed yoga,” it first made me reflect on the need to stop prioritizing the way ourbody looks. But then, as I thought more about it, I realized that we also need to stop idealizing certain ways our body can act. To do anything else is to further enable the culture of ableism commonly seen in yoga and other wellness.

 

            The podcast talked about a man who was upset by the fact that some yoga classes were called “advanced”, when on some days for someone with chronic illness “advanced” is getting out of bed. As someone who has experienced chronic illness, I immediately connected to this feeling. It isn’t fair to label some actions as for “more advanced yogis” when in fact, it has nothing to do with your ability to do yoga. It has to do with physical ability. And for some, that might look different.

 

            For me, there are days when getting out of bed is not possible, and there are other days when I can get up but I could never dream of doing an “advanced” yoga class. And other days, those are my favorite things. But on the days when it isn’t possible, the last thing I need is someone else telling me that I “should” be able to do that. That as a yoga teacher, or someone who has been practicing yoga for a long time, I should be at a high enough level to do that. Because my ability to practice yoga should have nothing to do with what my body can physically do on any given day. On those days, the voice in my head usually makes me feel guilty enough for things I can’t do. If I can go to a yoga class or practice yoga at home, there is no reason I should feel guilty for what that practice looks like or doesn’t look like.

 

            Yoga is defined as “the ability to direct the mind without distraction or interruption” according to Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. This text is often considered by yoga teachers and experts to be the standard guide to yoga, as it outlines basic principles that yoga follows. In this definition, it says nothing about the physical body. Similarly, in the Bhagavad Gita as translated by EknathEaswaran, Krishna (the embodiment of The Self) says, “yoga is perfect evenness of mind.” (Easwaran 94). Yoga isn’t about contorting your body into poses for pictures on Instagram. Some of the most accomplished yogis in the world never practice many of the asanas. Monks are advanced yoga practitioners, even those who sit still for hours every day, for they are practicing evenness of mind. Yoga literally means- to yoke- or union, of body, mind, and soul. Thus, yoga is any practice which unifies the body, mind, and soul.

 

Meditation is practicing yoga

 

            In my own life, I have seen the negative effects of this type of language. In college, I never went to “power yoga” with my friends. I was too sick to be able to do the physically demanding poses, and I didn’t want to be judged as not being “good at yoga.” The class was very fitness-based, and people didn’t go to that class who couldn’t keep up. I once heard people laughing about the “old people” who came to the class and “couldn’t even do the two minute planks.” After that, I knew I would never go to that class. There have been times in my life when I can do those planks, but at that point in my life, I would often be in tears of pain just from walking to class. Why would I subject myself to a yoga class where I would be mocked for not being able to keep up? Luckily, I found another workshop that was based on mindfulness and reflection that allowed me to practice yoga in a group setting that wasn’t physically demanding. I could go there no matter how I was feeling, and knowing that made me always feel welcome and part of the group: they would accept me even knowing that I was sick. These experiences have showed me how personal the problems that ableism creates can be. I already felt so guilty about my physical disabilities during those years that I would never have put myself in a setting where my ability might be questioned. Until I found that mindfulness course, I avoided any mention of yoga because I feared my body “couldn’t do it anymore.”

 

            I realize that yoga teachers need a way to set “levels” for their courses so students can know what to expect. I plan to use an idea that was used to describe our college orientation trips: flavors of salsa. The most physically demanding classes will be “Spicy”, moderate intensity will be “medium,” and less active/restorative classes will be “mild.” This way, there is no correlation between yoga “skill” and the type of class. How can you make the language you use in your yoga classes more welcoming to all? This week, as you practice yoga in your own practice and in classes, be aware of ableism as it appears. Be gentle with yourself first: it’s okay if you can’t do every pose or it doesn’t look the way you wish it did. Remember, there is no way yogis are supposed to look. Be yourself, and be proud of it.

Can we stop complimenting people for this?

I just listened to an episode of the Yoga Is Dead Podcast called “Vegans killed Yoga.” And I didn’t expect to have such a strong reaction to it, but I definitely did. The part that resonated the most strongly with me was the common practice of equating thinness with wellness. In yoga, we often see white, thin, strong women as the ideal “yoga body.” Obviously, there is no yoga body. But that isn’t always easy to remember. And I think everybody (and especially anybody with influence in the wellness industry) needs to actively work to dismantle this idea.

 

            In this episode, they did a great job of discussing how often being heavier is often healthy, while losing weight can be a sign of unhealthy habits or a symptom of disease. People often loose weight when they get cancer, or while on medication for many different diseases. Additionally, some people lose weight because of unhealthy eating habits: maybe they restrict their eating and aren’t giving themselves enough fuel and nutrients for their body to be healthy.

 

            For me personally, this has really been an issue lately. When I was extremely sick with a chronic illness for the past two years, my weight fluctuated. At the beginning, I gained weight because I stopped almost all physical activity because it was too painful to even walk to class. But more recently, I’ve been losing weight.

 

            As I’ve lost weight, I’ve been more hyperaware of comments surrounding my weight. Some people have complimented me on it, “Wow, you’ve lost weight recently,” or “You look so much healthier now.” Other people have made comments implying that everyone should lose weight-when a cousin sent a picture of the pre-packaged breakfasts she was given at college during COVID, another relative responded “Well at least you won’t have to worry about gaining weight.”

 

            When I hear those comments, part of me immediately realizes its wrong. I want to speak up, but usually I don’t. And I think the reason that I don’t is because I still partially believe that thinness is the ideal. Even though I know that the way I’ve lost weight hasn’t been healthy, a part of me is happy that they’ve noticed. It feels like a compliment: like they’re acknowledging the work I’ve done.

      

           Even if they're complimenting me on "looking strong," I don’t like it because I know they’re still referring to this unrealistic ideal. But I am grateful when people acknowledge the work that I’ve done, not in the way that it’s changed my body, but in the way that it’s enabled me to live a healthier lifestyle. I’ve gotten stronger not because of changing my diet, but because of hiking more, running, and doing yoga daily. And that is something I’m proud of and something I'm grateful to be able to do. Doing these things makes me feel strong and healthy, and I believe that is great.

 

Hiking adventures appreciating what my body can do

     

       However, I will not accept any “compliments” about how my body looks. Because while I’ve gotten stronger, I’ve also lost weight that I shouldn’t have lost. I’ve lost weight because I started a new medication that made me so nauseous I couldn’t stand the thought of food, and would have to force myself to eat small things throughout the day so I won’t pass out. There’s nothing healthy about that. And I’ve lost weight because I’ve had a really bad sore throat for a long time which makes me not want to eat. And that’s not healthy either.

 

            When people compliment me on how my body looks, it doesn’t matter if they’re complimenting me on my weight or the fact that I look “stronger.” It isn’t okay. Because they don’t know the story, they’re only comparing me to what they see as the ideal.

 

            I’m writing this article as a reminder to myself and to others. I don’t need to share my story when I’m “complimented” about my weight loss. And even though a part of me appreciates the compliment because it feels good to match the ideal of “strength” or “wellness,” I am trying to practice being more aware of the problems that come from these messages and start conversations. Try to take a few minutes today to reflect on your thoughts about wellness. What does a healthy body look like to you? Is that what your body actually looks like when it feels its best?

Drought on the Farm

            Currently, the we are facing a major drought on our farm. We can’t irrigate our farm because we don’t have access to enough water (and can’t buy into the town water for another few years). We haven’t had rain in weeks, and although it was supposed to rain both yesterday and today, it didn’t. The first plants to go were lettuces, but now we’re losing our cucumbers and summer squash. Unfortuantely we’re afraid many of our fall brassicas (cabbage, broccoli, etc.) might be next.

            What are we doing on our farm in a drought?

This is a question we’re asking ourselves about a hundred times a day right now. We’re focusing on harvesting as much as we can from the plants that are still alive (especially the ones that might not be for long). We’re not weeding often because we want to leave shade cover and we don’t want to disturb any remaining soil moisture. We’re selling a lot of our garlic and onions early (before they fully dry) because we need to have consistent product to sell.

            What can you do to help your crops during drought?

    The best way to deal with drought is to prevent it from being a problem. If you can, irrigation is a great solution for this. When we have access to water, we use drip tape because it delivers water directly to the roots of plants, thus cutting down on waste involved in many irrigation systems (read more from The Water Efficient Garden here). Another advantage of drip tape is that you can turn it on or off in different crop areas depending on what needs water. 

If you’re watering your plants, you should water in the early morning so that the water doesn’t evaporate before the soil and plants can absorb it.

            When you’re planning your garden, you can also choose to use drought resistant plants and varieties which will hopefully do better during a drought (see a list from The Spruce here ).

            The best way to help your crops during drought is to take an agroecological prospective and build soil moisture. This means to use ecological (natural system based) practices that keep water held in the soil. If you think about a forest, the soil is often damp even when it hasn’t rained. When you contrast that with the image of a dry, dusty field, it’s obvious that nature knows something that we don’t.

Notice the differences between the forest and the field: the forest has many layers of luscious green plants while the field has predominantly one type of plant, and you can see the layers of mulch and tree litter protecting the forest floor.

            How can you build that soil moisture on your farm?

            The best way to build soil moisture is to use compost. Adding compost to your soil increases organic matter (material from broken down plants) which is what holds onto water in your soil. Thus, the higher levels of organic matter in your soil, the more water will be available to the plant roots (and plants absorb water through their roots!). Another great way to keep water in your soil is to use mulch. Leaves or grass clippings (check that they are from an organically managed lawn because some lawn pesticides can harm farm plants) are a great, often cheap mulch. You can also use hay or straw, or even newspaper (but you should wet newspaper to hold it down so it doesn’t all blow away).        

What happens to plants during drought?

            Plants need water to survive. They absorb water through their roots and it travels up their stem. Like in humans, water carries nutrients throughout the plants. Water is most crucial, though, because of its role in photosynthesis. Plants photosynthesize to make sugar for energy. When plants photosynthesize, they release water through their leaves in a process called transpiration. Transpiration is what happens when plants open tiny holes in their leaves (called stomates) which allow gases to pass through. In order for photosynthesis, to happen, plants must take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen. During that process of having the stomates open, water also evaporates from the plants. In order to keep enough water in the plant for the plant to survive and keep its structure and maintain temperature stability, it must be able to absorb water from the roots. If you want to learn more about drought stress on plants, read this article from Biology Reader.

 

 

The plants on the right have been watered, the grass on the left hasn't. Notice how it loses it's shape and color when it doesn't have enough water.

            Basically, for plants to keep their structure and to keep making sugars and supplying oxygen, they need water. During a drought, they can close the stomates so they are no longer losing water to the atmosphere, but this stops them from photosynthesizing, so they can’t make sugars anymore for energy. Essentially, when they have to close the stomates so they don’t get dehydrated, they starve because they can’t make food!

    I hope this gives you more of an understanding of drought and how you can prepare. How do you deal with drought on your farm/garden? Any other ideas/tips?

Tips for Walking Meditation

 “The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth, dwelling deeply in the present moment and feeling truly alive” ~Thich Naht Hanh

One of my favorite ways to meditate is through walking meditation.  When I first started meditating daily, walking meditation was one of the most helpful skills I learned. I had a lot of trouble staying focused and was annoyed by how distracted I would get during sitting meditation. I also was dealing with a lot of chronic pain and sitting still made it much more obvious.

Instead, when I practiced walking meditation, there was something clear to focus on. I could always focus on the feeling of the next step. When I practiced sitting, I would often use the breath as an object of attention, which was really frustrating for me at first because my breath felt so shallow and uneven. However, when I was walking, I no longer had to worry about my breath. The movement in the meditation also helped my body be less distracting with chronic pain.

I have always loved walking barefoot, the strong feeling of connection to the earth. When I used to run and would get frustrated with my progress, I would spend a few days just running barefoot in empty fields. The feeling of barefoot feet striking the grass is so natural to me and empowered my running. Now, I use it to empower my practice.

There are several ways to practice walking meditation. Here’s some helpful links: Plum Village walking meditation with recording, The Chopra Center's Guide to Walking Meditation, Tricycle Magazine's Collection of Advice for Walking Meditation by 9 Teachers, and Thich Naht Hanh's article.

I usually like to practice walking meditation by focusing just on the feeling of the bottom of my foot hitting the ground. Sometimes, if I’m really distracted, I add in a word with each step, either “left, right” or something like “peace.”

Another method I’ve used, that I learned at Blue Cliff Monastery is to time your walking to your breathing. For example, while you inhale take four steps, then as you exhale take four steps (or two or three or whatever feels right).

Walking trails

Here are some tips that have made walking meditation much easier for me/that I use when I find myself getting distracted:

1. Set an intention before you begin. Make it a short phrase in the present tense. Today I used “May I take every step in peace.” But you could also use phrases related to breathing, being present, finding contentment, or any other goal in your meditation.

2. Take a few minutes before you start to focus on your surroundings. First, pay attention to the physical world around you, looking around and feeling what you see without labeling it. Then, notice the entire soundscape around you- sounds nearby, sounds farway, and sounds coming from your body. This way, if you first pay attention to your senses and then turn your focus to your body, you will be less distracted by these senses during your practice.

3. If distractions come up, notice them and go back to your object of attention (usually the feeling of your feet on the earth). Sometimes it can be helpful to label them “birds” or “car”, or it can be helpful to have a phrase you use to remind yourself to refocus “thank you for noticing those sounds, but sounds come and go but the earth is always here.” It can also be a good time to return to your intention that you set at the beginning.

4. If you notice your mind keeps going away and refocusing with phrases or your intention isn’t helping, stop walking. One cool part about walking meditation is that because it’s focused on the feeling of walking, you can easily change that into a distraction. When you stop, intentionally bring your focus back to your body. I like to stand on one foot for a few seconds to really feel the muscles in my foot and the earth on the bottom of my foot. That way, it is really clear to my mind where I should be focusing.

5. Make sure you stop sometimes to check in with yourself. Notice if you have been fully focused on the last few steps that you took. Remind yourself of your intention. Then start walking again and dive deeper into your meditation.

6. Try a different object of meditation. I like to keep the focus on my feet, but there’s so much to notice just in your feet. Notice how your toes feel. Or the ball of your foot. Or your heel. Or, instead of focusing on the feeling of your foot touching the earth, focus on the feeling when it lifts off the earth.

7. Smile. It’s always helpful to focus with a gentle smile to remind your body to feel peaceful and content.

 

Before I practice, I like to listen to this song and during the meditation I frequently remind myself that the mind can wander but instead I can see the image of a flower blooming with each step, and I can choose to focus on that instead.

I also like to listen to this song, because of the idea that regardless of whether you have somewhere to go or not, you don’t need to hurry.

If you haven't practiced walking meditation before, I encourage you to find time today or this week to practice this way. I hope these tips can help you in your practice! Do you have any tips for practicing walking meditation? What has been your experience practicing this way?

 

 

 

Making Your Own Path

“If you can see your path laid out in front of you step by step, you know it's not your path. Your own path you make with every step you take. That's why it's your path.” 

~ Joseph Campbell

Right now, because of the coronavirus pandemic, many people are finding that their lives look very different than they expected. Whether it’s high school seniors who missed their graduations, professionals losing jobs they believed were secure, or adults in nursing homes who can’t see their loved ones anymore, everyone’s life has changed.

 

For a long time after I got sick, I was upset about the way my life looked. While I was still in college, my life was not what I thought the college life was supposed to be. I spent most of my time in bed: after class I would do my homework from bed until I fell asleep. I missed many campus events, barely saw my friends, and I certainly didn’t go to any parties. There were days when I was so frustrated this reality that I would cry just thinking about what my friends were doing.

 

Unfortunately, it didn’t get any easier once I left college. When I spent my final semester off campus on medical leave, I missed so many events I had dreamed of for my senior year. It wasn’t just the major events, it was the small things: the ability to be a senior advisor to the club I had directed for a year, the weeknights studying in my suite with my friends, spending late nights in the library finishing my thesis research.

 

Even after I graduated, my life still didn’t look like I thought it would. I always thought I would get a “good job” where I’d make a lot of money and live on my own. If I didn’t do that, I would spend a year hiking the Appalachian Trail while figuring out what I wanted to do with my life. Instead, I returned to the farm where I had worked previous summers to work part-time while spending most of my free time at doctors appointments.

 

Today, my life still doesn’t look like I imagined. I thought I would have a new job by now, or be hiking the Appalachian Trail. Due to coronavirus, I cancelled my trip (read more here), which while upsetting, I know was what I needed to do.

For the first time in a long time, I’m grateful my life doesn’t look like I imagined. I love my job- I love spending time with the people I work with, playing word games as we work or discussing our newest recipes with the fresh vegetables. I love mornings at the farm- how still the air is before a hot day, the way the whole world seems to be waiting for the first light of the sunrise, the way the whole sky turns pink when it finally rises. I love the work we do- I love working in the dirt to grow delicious food that I know is feeding people who enjoy it. I love spending my days outside. I love having free time to meditate, to read, to take online classes, and to write. I love living at home- spending time with my family, getting to see my friends from high school, and saving money for the future.

 

Beautiful moments at the farm-fresh beets and garlic flowers

I don’t know what my life will look like a year from now, or even three months from now. But for the first time, I’m not worried about it. I trust that I will find a way to live a meaningful life that I enjoy. I believe that I will find a way to pursue my passions and find joy in every day. I don’t want to look back on this year and realize that I spent the whole time wishing it was different. When I look back on this year, I want to know that I appreciated my life as I lived it.

 

I no longer feel pressure to have my life follow the classic “plan.” I don’t need to get what other people consider a good job. If everyone did that, nobody would ever do anything extraordinary. If I spend my whole life trying to follow an already existent path, I will never get to discover my own journey.

 

The Trail Will Provide

Last week when I was hiking, I was told a story about how “the trail will provide.” Joe, an AT thru-hiker who had started in Georgia three months ago, told me about running into a friend. Joe  was hiking when he came upon another thru-hiker he had met before, Frank. Frank told Joe he had run out of water. Joe asked in concern, “Do you want some of my water? I’m carrying extra.” But Frank replied, “No, the trail will provide.” Joe told this story in shock, with a warning, “Never drink the last sip. Maybe the trail provides, but you have to get the water and carry it.” As an experienced hiker, Joe knew how dangerous the trail can be, and how important hydration is.

Appalachian Trail

At the time, I basically ignored the story. I have been hiking a fair amount, and I am very cautious about always carrying extra water.

However, since then, I’ve thought more about the idea that “the trail will provide.” I know this is a common motto in thru-hiking, referring to the fact that people are often pleasantly surprised by the way things work themselves on the trail.

But what about if we think about it regarding the trail we’re on in our lives? Sometimes, it can seem like the challenges we face are impossible or overwhelming. But what if we need the trail? What if the trail provides every obstacle because we need to learn to overcome it?

As I’ve been rebuilding my life as I recover from a chronic illness, I’ve been thinking a lot about the lessons it taught me. I wouldn’t say I’m grateful for an illness that caused me so much physical pain and emotional distress over the past two years, but I am realizing how much I’ve learned from it.

Before getting sick, I never would have practiced meditation. I was a very impatient person, and getting as much done as efficiently as I could was always my priority. I didn’t like to waste time. Now that I’ve established a regular meditation practice, I’ve learned how important it is to be present in every moment. That while it can feel good to accomplish things, it’s much more important to learn how to be content regardless of what you’ve accomplished.

In the past two years I’ve read more books than I had in the rest of my life. I’ve read almost every non-fiction book I can get my hands on, learning about meditation, psychology, environmentalism, our food system, and so many more. For the first time in my life, I’ve read diverse fiction: from Barbara Kingsolver novels and other modern literature to poetry by Rumi, a 13^th Century poet.

My life motto used to be “I don’t believe in excuses.” Mostly, this focused on myself: whenever I got injured, I would never skip Frisbee practice, and I played in tournaments even after injuring my shoulder and being unable to turn my head one direction. However, this mindset affected my relationships: then friends struggled with depression and anxiety, I couldn’t understand why they couldn’t just “get things done” or “decide to be happy”. When people were too sick to go to events, I considered them as lazy. Now, I realize how absurd this notion is. Obviously, I can never know what those people were going through. They were suffering from illnesses I can’t imagine dealing with and bearing unbelievable burdens just to function. Now, instead of judging, I try to listen. To be there for people and to listen to their stories. For myself, I’ve learned how to listen to what my body needs, and to slow down when I need to.

Clearly I didn’t need to get sick to learn these lessons. But maybe I did. Maybe I couldn’t understand them until something that dramatic happened to me. I don’t believe that everything happens for a reason, and I do believe that bad things often happen to good people for no reason. But I do think that when we think about our life journeys, it’s important to realize that “the trail will provide.” By living our life, we will experience what we need to experience, and learn what we need to know. It may not be what we expected or what we hoped for, but the journey of our life will provide what we need.

 

“One’s destination is never a place but rather a new way of looking at things.” – Henry Miller

Allowing Yourself to Stop Thinking

In one of the meditation recordings that I was listening to recently, it encouraged me to

“Allow yourself to stop thinking. Let go of your thoughts.”

Within the context of the meditation, it seemed completely possible and logical. Instead of focusing on whatever I was thinking about, I could just follow my breath.

 

However, it became more powerful when I’ve thought about it since then. I realized that in a way, that’s a major goal of meditation: to have such control of your thoughts and your mind that you can just let go of your thoughts. Thoughts create our reality: they are our expectations, our fears, our dreams. While they can be incredibly powerful, they can also be incredibly harmful. Thoughts are the origin of all fear and anxiety.  In our thoughts, we worry about things we can never change: we replay conversations to think about what we should have said and we judge the behavior of people around us. We may even worry about upcoming events for days, only to have them never actually occur.

 

Imagine if we could just get rid of that? What if we could just let go of our thoughts? Let go of our judgements, our fears, our stress?

 

This practice has allowed me to be more present in my life. While I’m at work doing repetitive tasks on the farm, I've noticed how often my mind is filled with unimportant thoughts. After seeing the movie Hamilton recently, I’ve had many of those songs stuck in my head. This week, when I start thinking about them, I say to myself,

“Thank you for remembering that. I’m glad you know that, but we don’t have to think about that right now. We can let it go.”

Even though I enjoy the songs, and they’re not particularly negative thoughts, they distract me from where I am. When I let them go, my mind is able to relax since it isn’t focused on trying to remember something that doesn’t matter. My mind is instead able to focus on what I’m doing: to feel the plants in my fingers, feel the sun on my face, and hear the sounds of the farm around me. I'm more aware of how I’m feeling: it’s much easier to notice that you’re dehydrated or too hot when your mind isn’t focused on something else.

 

Beyond letting go of our thoughts, a powerful implication of this is the idea that we can more fully control our thoughts. If we can stop thinking completely, then we can also choose what we’re okay with resuming thinking about. Often I find it important to think about what my body needs in a specific moment, ideas related to what I’m doing (like if a bug I find is a pest or if it’s a beneficial insect), or to pay attention to the people around me. In my daily life, this has been so important for my happiness and my ability to be fully present. I can use thoughts to be more fully present in my life, instead of allowing them to pull me out of the present moment.

 

It also means that we can choose to think about more important things. Arguably, there is nothing more important than thinking about our behavior and feelings in the current moment. However, if we’re no longer dwelling on anxieties, regrets, and stressors, we have space in our minds and in our lives to think about other things. Maybe we can notice what parts of our day are most rewarding to us and brainstorm ways to incorporate those more regularly. Maybe we can spend a small amount of time every day thinking about bigger problems. What can I do today to help with climate change? How can the farm I work on more successfully feed the people in our region? How can I help improve the days of the people I’m around right now?

 

Imagine if every human being spent just a few minutes a day thinking about how to solve the major problems our world faces, or how to spread compassion to those around them. What would our world look like?

 

Obviously, it isn’t easy to let go of our thoughts, or to stop thinking for even a small amount of time. But like most things, it gets easier with practice. If you start doing it in meditations, you will find it easier to incorporate into your life. And the more you do it, the more you will realize how drastically it can affect your life.

 

“The mind can go in a thousand directions, but on this beautiful path, I walk in peace. With each step, the wind blows. With each step, a flower blooms.” ~Thich Naht Hanh

Sunflowers

 

 

Lessons In Self Acceptance From A Cow

I’ve been told many times over the past few years as I’ve learned more about psychology, meditation, and self-improvement about the importance of “accepting yourself. And honestly, I thought that I did accept myself. Sure, there’s things I wish I could change, but I’m generally happy with how I live my life. I have friends who have never liked the way they look or the way they spend their time. But I’m comfortable with my body, I love my job, and I enjoy the way I spend my time. But last summer, as I was harvesting tomatoes, I had an interesting conversation that made me realize how important self-acceptance is.

I asked my coworkers, “If you could be any vegetable, what would you want to be?” As vegetable farmers, we talk about vegetables a lot. But everyone had an answer: someone would be chard because of the fun colors, someone would be zucchini because they love it’s flavor, and I would be garlic because I love everything about it (see this article). One of my coworkers, Ryan  said, “I would want to be the worm on the tomato.”

Which of course led me to say, “Well, if we’re talking animals, I would want to be a cow. Imagine how nice that life would be, eating grass in beautiful fields all day. And I’d get to be a cow. What could be cooler?” To me, this was so simple. I love cows, they look beautiful, and they seem to live incredible lives.

Cows living their best lives

After everyone answered, I kept thinking about this idea. Then I realized, what if all this cow wanted in its life was to be the worm on the tomato also? What if it dreamed of drinking fresh tomato juice all day instead of constantly chewing grass? What if it wished it were small and invisible instead of so big and visible? That would be a really unhappy cow. And it would be so sad-how could a cow spend its whole life wishing it was something else, when it was so lucky to be a cow?

Then I thought about this and realized- maybe both animals would rather be human? There’s so many incredible things humans can do-we can talk, eat so many different foods, cook, travel farther than these animals could imagine, learn incredible things. I realized that I didn’t want to spend my life as the unhappy cow-I didn’t want to be the one always wishing I was somebody else, I wanted to realize how awesome it is to be me, and how many other people (or animals) might dream of my life.

This isn’t to say that I became an arrogant, overconfident person. Instead, I realized that I didn’t have to worry about what I couldn’t do in my life, who I couldn’t be. I could just focus on who I am, and work towards who I want to be next. I could choose to spend my time the way I want to, and appreciate the life I’m living.

 

“And so for this lifetime you do what you need to do for this lifetime and it doesn’t matter about all the rest because you’ve probably already done it before or else you’ll do it in the future.”- Vicki Mackenzie in A Cave In the Snow

How To Start Your Meditation Practice

             Meditation is one of the most incredible, simplest things you can do to improve your physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional health.  It is a great tool for reducing stress, learning to manage your emotions, improving your memory and learning more about yourself and your priorities (See this article).  To learn more about the surprising health benefits of meditation, see this article.

            It can be overwhelming to think about starting a meditation practice-there’s so many resources about what you can/can’t do. The best advice I can give is to try many different things, and see what works for you.

Stop measuring days by degree of productivity and start experiencing them by degree of presence. — Alan Watts

Here are some things which have worked well for me and I recommend for anyone starting their own practice:

1. Commit to a regular practice. I started with 20 minutes a day, and after a few weeks decided to commit to 1 hour a day. To get the biggest benefits from meditation, you should sit for at least 20 minutes a day (Learn more here).

2. Make it clear to other people that they shouldn’t interrupt you. I made a sign for my door that says, “Please don’t come in, I’m meditating.” If my family is around, I tell them before I start.

 3. Find a group to practice with. Some people almost exclusively practice with groups: you can find local groups at community centers, gyms, Buddhist organizations, and many other places in your area. A simple google search with “Meditation in ___(your region)” will likely turn up many results.

4. Go on a retreat. An immersive retreat can be one of the best ways to start or build your practice. Instead of having to find time and a place to regularly commit to meditating, you are immersed in a place where that is all you are doing. Retreats can be a really great way to quickly learn many new meditation techniques and skills. You can also meet new friends on similar journeys, and visit beautiful places. Two retreat centers I recommend are: Blue Cliff Monastery and Insight Meditation Society but I would recommend getting suggestions specific to your area.

5. Talk about meditating. You might be surprised by how many of your friends already meditate and are part of groups or know of meditation classes you can take. It can be very beneficial to have friends to discuss your practice with regularly to keep you motivated.

6. Find a meditation coach. They will be able to guide you through various practices and give you advice specific to your experiences.

7. Read about meditation. I recommend books by Thich Naht Hanh, Sharon Salzberg and Pema Chodron. You can see a more thorough list in my previous blog post. It can also be advantageous to learn about Buddhism and other traditions that practice meditation to learn where these practices are coming from.

8. Get a meditation apps. These often have guided meditations which can give your practice direction and help you focus. I recommend the app Insight Timer.

9. Keep a journal of your practice. It is important to not only record when/how often you practice, but to note insights you develop from your practice, challenges you experience, and new techniques you’ve tried in order to track your growth in meditation.

10. Start! Instead of worrying about if you’re trying the right method, sitting in the right posture, or anything else, just start meditating. Choose one of these resources (or find some advice on the internet) and start your practice today.

What has been your experience starting a meditation practice? What would you recommend to someone looking to begin their own?

Why I Don't Watch Netflix

           Like many people, Netflix introduced me to the idea of binge watching TV. Especially once I got sick with a chronic illness, I considered it one of the only things I had energy to do. I thought that if I wasn’t watching TV, I would just be upset by the fact that I couldn’t do what I wanted to be doing (working, seeing friends, exercising). I knew I watched more TV than I wanted, but I didn’t consider it an addiction. After all, I only watched two episodes a day, and it wasn’t ruining the rest of my life.

            But eventually, I realized that Netflix never made me feel better. When I finished watching, I was still frustrated by not being able to do whatever I wanted. It wasn’t until I got through a few shows, though, that I realized Netflix was making me feel worse. It didn’t matter if the show I watched was scary, depressing, or comical, whenever I stopped, I questioned what I was doing with my life. I questioned who I was, why I was wasting my life watching TV, and I questioned why my life mattered. I told a friend what I thought, and he said,

“Usually when you think you should do less of something, it means it's a bad habbit. People who drink five cups of coffee a day usually feel like they should be drinking less. But most people don’t.”

            I’ve always considered myself a disciplined person. I live by my rules and standards, and I don’t like to violate them ever. I don’t swear, I don’t drink, I don’t do drugs. For several years, I wouldn’t even drive over the speed limit. To be so clearly told that this concern about watching too much TV probably meant I need to stop watching it made it clear to me that this was a choice I was making everyday.

            When I thought about it as a habit, I knew that I needed to stop watching TV completely. It was making me miserable, and it was wasting my time. Imagine what I could do with an extra 1.5 hours a day? I could read, I could learn a new skill, I could talk with friends, I could exercise, I could sleep.

            Once I decided this, I figured I should learn a little bit more about it. Was I just being overdramatic? Netflix is a social thing, my friends at work always talk about what shows they’re watching. And I have shows that certain friends love, and we talk about those shows regularly. What would it mean to not be able to participate in these discussions? After all, it's not like Netflix is harmful, right?

            The more I read about Netflix addiction, the more frustrated I got. Netflix, and many technologies, are engineered to addict us. They reward our brains through triggering dopamine and serotonin production, which not only give us pleasure, but also a feeling of satisfaction. Instead of having to do something productive, they let us feel like we’ve accomplished important things by literally doing nothing. If we can get the same feeling from volunteering, running a marathon, or watching Netflix, what will we choose? Most people choose Netflix-it’s by far the easiest way to get these rewards.

            Not only that, but the shows themselves are designed to addict us. Episodes are made in lengths of 43 minutes, a length almost impossible for our brains to comprehend. We process time in hours, or half-hours, so 43 minutes is not a clear signal for us to stop watching anything. Additionally, the arc of these shows is designed to draw us in and keep us watching, even when the episode ends. (Read more on the physical reasons why Netflix is so addictive here.

            The more I thought about it, the more I realized that Netflix couldn’t be a part of my life. I was spending a lot of time trying to figure out what I wanted to do next, what job or grad school program. But how would anything seem appealing when I could sit down and get the same feelings of accomplishment, pleasure, and satisfaction from just watching TV? It would diminish all other positive feelings I experience in my life, and convince me that the challenging times aren’t worth it, because there’s other ways to get these rewards.

            When I told a friend that I wanted to stop watching Netflix, he told me how his four year old, who “is a really happy child, builds fairy houses and loves just playing outside” after her hour of iPad time once a week complains “I’m so bored,” and cries because she doesn’t have anything to do. Of course she feels like that, because her brain felt so accomplished without her having to do anything.  If a perfectly happy four year old could feel that upset after watching one hour of TV, imagine what several hours could do to a young adult already struggling with purpose and direction?

             Since deciding to stop watching Netflix, I have not once regretted my decision. When people talk about TV shows at work, I am completely okay with the fact that I haven’t seen them. Because I have better ways to spend my time. And while some people can watch Netflix and not have it be a problem, for me it was a problem. It was causing me to waste important time, question myself and my life in negative ways, and making me less motivated to do other things because it rewarded my brain in much easier ways.

            If you’re considering if you watch too much Netflix, I encourage you to learn more about the effects it can have on you. It might be doing things you don’t even know. Record for a week how much you’re watching, and note how you feel before you start watching and after you finish. Maybe it’s something you enjoy, but you might be surprised.

            As I try to be more intentional about how I spend my time, I’ve realized that Netflix is the complete opposite. Not only does it waste my time with things I don’t think are important, it confuses my brain into thinking that I’ve accomplished real things when I haven’t left my bed. For me, quitting Netflix was one of the most important decisions I’ve made for my well-being. At first, I missed the show I was watching, and I missed the characters. But I can find characters in books and in real life. Slowly, after a few weeks of not watching it, I’ve noticed how my brain is beginning to remember how rewarding it can be to work for emotional rewards. I have always know that life is more rewarding when you work for it (I’m a big believer in type 2 fun) and I wouldn’t have said that viewpoint changed while I watched Netflix, but it did.

            Maybe it wasn’t an addiction, but honestly it doesn’t matter. It was an unhealthy habit that I am very happy to have removed from my life. This pandemic has encouraged and even glorified binge watching, but instead when people talk about the entertainment they get from Netflix or other similar things, I think about how much I have gained by not using it. It has given me another way to be intentional about how I use my time, and  it allows me to stay in control of my emotions and priorities.

Books to Build Your Ideal Life

    Recently, I've been digging deeper into books focused on philosophy and building the life you want. I think it's importantly to constantly explore these ideas and hear new perspectives so that you can build your own priorities in life. Here are four of the great books I've read recently:

Walden by Henry David Thoreau

    As a friend who was a Buddhist monk for six years said, “It’s the closest any book has come to describing why become a monk. Even closer than any book written by monks.” Walden is a philosophical journey into a Thoreau’s choice to leave society and live on independently in the woods. In the first section of this book, Thoreau combines thoughtful commentary on the problems in society and analysis of the purpose of life, in an exploration of his intentions for his new lifestyle. In the second section, Thoreau utilizes beautiful, poetic language, to describe the nature around him: dedicating chapters to the ponds, the woods, and the wildlife that visits him in each season.

Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins

    I recently attended a free seminar by Tony Robbins, and it exceeded every expectation I had! He is so inspiring, and gives concrete steps everyone can take today to achieve their goals. In this book, Robbins gives advice for how to build the life you want, and how to master specific areas of your life that pose challenges. Citing not only his own experience, but the experience of hundreds of experts and other books, this book provides valuable insights that everyone should read.

Essentialism by Greg McKeown

    Essentialism is a great, concise book about how to prioritize your life. It describes how to understand what’s really important to you, and how to eliminate everything that’s unnecessary. If you feel overwhelmed often, or like you can’t dedicate yourself fully to your priorities, this book is sure to help you. As McKeown says, “[Essentialism is] about challenging the core assumption of ‘we can have it all’ and ‘I have to do everything’ and replacing it with the pursuit of ‘the right thing, in the right way, at the right time.’”

Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver

    While I don’t often read fiction, this novel is one of the most captivating books I’ve read recently. It tells the story of a young woman in Appalachia who is dissatisfied with every aspect of her life, and on her way to make a change stumbles upon a dramatic discovery. This discovery changes her life, her family, and her town, and leads to a discourse on climate change, religion, academics, and a reconciling of these different worlds.

    What are you reading right now? And what would you add to this list of books that have made you analyze your priorities?

Everything You Need to Know About Harvesting Heirloom Garlic

            This week is one of my favorite weeks of the year: the beginning of garlic harvest! After four seasons of running the garlic harvest for the farm I work on, where we harvest, cure, and store over 20,000 heads of over 20 varieties of garlic each year, here are some of the tips I’ve learned.

First garlic of the season

 

When Is Garlic Ready?

            In my experience in Massachusetts, the first varieties are usually ready around the fourth of July. Obviously, this is very dependent on the varieties you’re growing, where you’re located, and the weather that season.

            Luckily, you can tell from looking at the plants when the garlic is ready to harvest. As a general rule of thumb, garlic is ready to harvest when half of the leaves have turned yellow and died. When looking at a variety, at least ½ to ¾ of the leaves should be yellow/dead. Often, you will see plants whose stems are falling over as well, which is a good indication they’re done. If you harvested the scapes, the garlic will usually be ready for harvest 2-3 weeks after that. While sometimes the timing is inconvenient or you want it to get a little bigger, don’t wait too long past this point in ratio of living: dead leaves or there will be too few layers of wrapping protecting the garlic.

            When the leaves look ready to harvest, try pulling up a few bulbs to check if it’s the right size and looks ready.

            For more information and some helpful pictures, read this article on Garden Betty.

 

What Do I Need to Know Before I Harvest It?

            Especially if you’re harvesting garlic to cure and store, the most important thing to remember is that GARLIC IS FRAGILE! If you bruise it during harvest you usually won’t know until weeks afterwards when it rots as it’s curing. My boss used to tell us “treat garlic like raw eggs”. It can be tempting to knock the bulbs together or against the ground to get the dirt off, but this will cause them to bruise. Be especially careful when you put them in bins: if they hit the side of the bin or the other garlic too hard, they will bruise. A good rule of thumb is that garlic should never make noise. If you hear the garlic hit the bin, you’re not being gentle enough.

 

How Do I Get the Garlic Out of the Ground?

            Great question! There are a few different options, and it depends on the amount of garlic you grew, the type of garlic and the texture of the soil. You can either: pull it out by hand with a trowel as backup, pitchfork it, or undercut it with a tractor.

Here’s a chart with the Pros/Cons of Each Methods and When You Should Use It:

Method	When To Use It	Pros	Cons
Hand pulling with trowel backup	Small amounts of garlic that is easy to pull	Fast Doesn’t require equipment	Can result in breaking a lot of garlic if you’re not careful, very slow if large quantities
Pitchforking	If you don’t have a tractor or you had trouble pulling it by hand	Doesn’t require a tractor Makes it easy to hand pull	More physical effort
Undercutting	If you’re harvesting a lot of garlic	Fast Reduces physical labor required	Requires a tractor

Hand-Pulling With A Trowel for Backup

            To hand-pull garlic, simply reach as low as you can on the neck (as close to the soil as you can) and pull the garlic up. If you have trouble getting it out, use your trowel to dig around it (being careful not to hit the garlic with the trowel). Sometimes, it will feel like the garlic is going to break, and it probably will. It’s okay to break a few, it will teach you how hard you can pull. If you start breaking a lot of them (when the neck separates leaving the bulb in the ground), it’s time to try a different approach. If you have a trowel and only a few are breaking, you can just dig around the ones that are having the most trouble coming up. If most of them are difficult to pull, use a pitchfork or tractor to undercut them first.

 

Pitchforking

            Pitchforking lets you loosen the soil around the garlic so it’s easy to pull it up by hand. To pitchfork, start about six inches from the garlic along the side of the bed, and put the pitchfork in as deep as you can. Once it’s really deep, angle it upward towards the garlic, essentially lifting the garlic out of the ground. Depending on how close together your garlic is planted, you can do this either to every garlic plant, or just go down the row. This won’t pull the garlic all of the way out of the ground, but it will make it much easier for you or somebody else to hand-pull it afterwards.

            It can be difficult to find the right distance to pitchfork: if you’re too far from the garlic it will still be hard to pull up, but if you’re too close you can poke the garlic and damage it. The best way to learn is to check the bulbs often. Have somebody right behind you (or do it yourself) pull up the garlic right after you pitchfork it so that you can immediately see if you’re damaging the garlic. If you feel like you aren’t getting close enough, try moving closer but be sure you check for damage frequently. You can try digging down deeper before pulling up, that’s a good way to loosen the soil more without damaging the garlic.

            If you find pitchforking to be too labor intensive or take too long on the scale you’re working, try undercutting with a tractor.

 

Undercutting with a Tractor

            Undercutting with a tractor is a really efficient way to harvest a lot of garlic without a lot of physical labor. Like pitchforking, this method won’t pull the garlic from the ground, you will still need to hand-pull it after. But, if it’s hard to hand-pull, you can quickly undercut an entire bed so it can be harvested.

            To undercut a bed of garlic, the most important thing is to find the right height to set the undercutter. You need it to be high enough that it actually makes it easier to pull the garlic out, but low enough that you aren’t damaging the garlic. Once you start undercutting, check after a few feet (and check again several times throughout the process) by looking at the bulbs to make sure you aren’t damaging them.

 

Fresh garlic

 

A Note About Heirloom Varieties

            If you’re harvesting many different varieties (and especially if you’re planning to use them as seed next year), it’s really important to keep track of which garlic is which variety. To do this on our farm, we only harvest one variety at a time so the entire crew is doing the same thing. Then we label each bin three times: one label on each side (made on masking tape with sharpie), and a piece of tape across the top labeled with the variety. This way, as we prepare them for storage, we know which variety we are dealing with.

 

Storing the Garlic

            Now that the garlic is out of the ground, it’s time to prepare it for storage. You don’t want to let garlic sit in the sun for too long, so make sure to bring bins to a shaded or indoor area as soon as they’re full.

            After harvesting, the next step is to cure the garlic. Curing the garlic means laying it out to dry for 6-8 weeks so that it can be stored for a longer period of time. Before you lay it out to dry, consider washing it. There is much debate within the garlic community about whether or not to wash garlic. Washing garlic can be helpful because it removes the dirt which lets the garlic dry faster. However, you have to do it carefully so that you’re not spreading any diseases through the garlic, and if you wash it you need to cure it somewhere with great air circulation so that the extra added moisture is not a problem.

Garlic on the Spray Table for Washing

            To wash the garlic, lay it out (we use a spray table) and spray it down with the hose. You can spray it pretty hard (some people even power-wash it), and you need to spray it with some force to make the washing effective. Be sure that however you wash it, you’re being careful not to spread disease (a really common mistake is to wash the garlic by dipping it into a bucket of water, but this spreads disease from one bulb to any others you wash in the same water).

            Next, find space to lay out the garlic. We lay it out in the greenhouse, but you can also do it in a barn or any other structure that is shaded and has good airflow. Before we had a greenhouse, we used to hang it from netting on the walls of the barn because we didn’t have space to lay it out on any tables. That took a lot more time because we had to tie the garlic into bunches of six, label each bunch, then tie it to the netting, but you can definitely be creative and make space if you don’t have a big area.

            When you lay out the garlic, be sure to label it by variety. We label with one piece of tape across the garlic and other pieces along the edge. Make sure you leave space around each variety so that no bulbs get mixed together.

 

Garlic drying in the Greenhouse

 

Next Steps

            Now, you wait. While the garlic is curing, focus on your other crops and enjoy the lovely smell of garlic in your greenhouse! In a few weeks I’ll post about what we do with are garlic after it’s cured.

 

            Do you have any tips and tricks for harvesting garlic? Which methods do you use? I’d love to hear in the comments below.