One of my dreams is to live on a farm : extensive grounds to ramble through, hosts of animals- goats, ponies, dogs, chickens- and a 40 minute radius away from everyone else. Now, this might some both idyllic and unfriendly. But it really is not.
We live in the thick of suburbia, packed with houses, streets, highways under construction and malls. There are people everywhere and anywhere here : scrunched up in cars on the roads, boxed up in concrete termite mounds aka apartments and offices, pottering about in malls , churches, temples, Starbucks, Uncle (blank) Kopitiams. The effect of this infestaton is stunning. Claustrophobia. Loneliness. And earache. If crowds is an indication of friendliness, then this city should be the friendliest place to be in. Which brings us back to my farm. Or rather, the farm that is coming.
The farm is mainly a retreat from the kind of desperate -living mentioned earlier and from the values that come with it: efficiency, performance, NLP and kopitiams that are plastic toy versions of the original hometown kopis, yiu-char-koays and roti bakar .
A retreat is not a barricade against burnt muffins in the oven, misunderstandings, cancer and disobedient children. A retreat is not an escape. A place of retreat is , mostly, a place of refuge – a safe place, where you are more attentive to what God is saying about Himself,the world, about family, about yourself.
I learnt this last week when we were at a pastor’s home, tucked away in the forests of a hill. Here, CH and his wife, L, welcomed friends . They walked us through their orchard and ‘gardens’. They swept the floors, cooked, changed the water filter and held discussions with the lot of us. This earthy kind of spirituality captivates my heart. And I have also seen it in places dank with mold and reeking of faulty air-conditioning.
I suppose the heart of the farm is in the farmer just as the heart of earthy spirituality lies in the heart of the seeker. Give the same expanse of land to an industrialist and you will see rows of smoke-belching factories or , uniformed ranks of terrace houses. Give the same country to corrupt despots and you will have the perpetual construction of mega-projects and burgeoning rot in the public sphere.
Both Adrian and I agree that the farm has to be situated in a place with cool weather. And we disagree as to the number of dogs we should have, and whether they (and their pups) will be allowed into the house. But, we both believe, that we can start preparing for this farm by listening, and listening correctly to what He is saying to us about the direction of our lives. And about the land which we inhabit.
Today, our country turns 53. Politicians and mercenaries are tearing her apart with selfish agendas and destructive policies. Yet we have high hopes for this land. We dream that she will fully inhabit that space – of mutual understanding, of peace, of justice, of compassion- for which she was birthed 53 years ago. We hope she becomes fertile soil where both young people and old folks of all races and religions will grow and flourish together. We pray she will be free from the clamour of wars and unrests that have ravaged so many other nations. We long to see her returned to the heart of her peoples- a Malaysia that gives room for all.
This is also our dream.
23/09/2010 at 7:15 pm Permalink
Hi
Reading your farming bit brings back our dream to own and live in a farm by the forest. I have always enjoyed the rustic lifestyle. To be able to jump into the stream with your normal clothing not just to catch a fish but for the joy of feeling the earth, mud and water between the toes and being wet. To walk and explore the endless corridors and tunnels of green. I would love being awaken by the sounds of the cockerel, geese, ducks and cows for want of feed.
As we have grown older, actually much older I had to give reality a check. We recently had to put Minty to sleep as her arthritis was inhibiting her movements. Even climbing a single step up to our bedroom required great effort and pain. After that we had to comfort Pepper as she felt something amiss without her buddy-in-arms to bark at other neighborhood’s bigger dogs albeit behind the safety of the our metal gate. Our present imitation of a farm of dogs, aquariums and potted plants wouldn’t allow us to just leave and go off for a day or two much less for a holiday. I have automatic feeders for my fish and could even have one installed for my dogs. But my dogs are not just a dogs – they are family. We did think of friends who could help out in our absence, then, everyone treats animals and plants differently. We felt the best option was to pay someone to do it and to do it the way we would treat our pets and plants.
Reality tells us in the future we would not just be taking holidays that are a week or even two from our imitation of a farm, but likely months. We have not decided whether we would be living with imitations or pirated farms, but definitely not an actual farm as it is a 24/7 duty. Some dreams are dreams while some could become a reality. I hope the latter for you.
14/10/2010 at 7:22 am Permalink
Thanks for sharing Steven. It is true that I have an idealized picture of the farming life. What I had in mind was some land to plant vegetables, an orchard and some animals. Even that , as you reminded me, would take a lot of work.
The beauty of being rooted to land is that you reminded of what you are- human, finite, open to pain and joy. I’m not saying that people in the city don’t feel pain and sorrow or joy. But busyness, noise, and the buzz and burrs of a technologically drawn landscape can desensitize people to what is real and true.
I still hope for that farm