About 20 years ago I heard the child development author, Joseph Chilton Pearce (he wrote The Crack in the Cosmic Egg) speak. I was mesmerized by his clarity of how much play should enter into the life of children (and adults). There was a workshop at a local Waldorf School the next day and even though it was “sold out”, I just went and spent the day. Joe’s first wife died and later in life he had married a younger woman. They had a daughter whose name escapes me. Joe said that one day his daughter who was around 8 years ran up to him. She was quite excited and said, “Daddy, Daddy I know, I know!” Joe replied, “And what, ____ , do you know?” Daughter, “I know what we are here to do.” Joe, “And what are we here to do?” Daughter, “Daddy, we are here to make things and sing, to make things and sing!”
From the lips of a small child we get the direction that we all should take. That quote jumps into my brain several times a year. It often shows up when I feel overwhelmed by my lacks as a farmer. My lack of knowledge of animal husbandry or protein levels in my dry, winter hay for instance. Yet, each day I am called to make things and sing. Shelley, my wife, is the singer in the barn. Perhaps I should work on singing more?
