January-An Unimportant Life
I discovered a writer this year who I became so crazy for, that I could finally be categorized as someone's "fangirl". She writes about the real depths of the human experience, most often from a female perspective. She encapsulates the wholeness of motherhood, the brokenness of loss, the frailty and richness of life, and the profundity of connection. After ripping through seven of her novels, (feeling moved, or heartbroken, tender, enamored, or surprised depending on the tale),and needing to recount the stories to Rich, I was astounded that in my estimation, she just doesn't miss. It made me wonder about the life of a professional writer...whose agent expects them to sign one book deal after another. Perhaps due to this productivity climate, other authors publish uninspired works to keep the momentum going. But this woman seems to be a born storyteller who writes out of sheer inspiration.
Despite her gift and success, she is low key, seemingly living a quiet and simple life, and maybe even allergic to fame. In other words, she is living an unimportant life. Unlike the tendency of our society to seek out attention, to be self-promoting, whether its personal branding through social media, filming or photographing ourselves, focusing on individualism, even economic models that encourage personal gain and the every-man-for-himself mentality, there are still people who exist who aren't focused on status. They are satisfied living their little life, generating something of their own spirit and with their unique skills to add to the collective soup. In my opinion, Maggie O'Farrell is something special and I'm glad she is sharing her stories with the world. In lieu of worshipping her as if she is anyone other than a human walking the planet like me, I'll just aspire to take a page from her book and live unimportantly myself.
After consuming much of her fiction, I finally gave her memoir a listen. Stories of her many adventures,which started in youth, gave me some insight into her enlightenment. I know from my own experiences that the more of the world that you see, and the more cultures you immerse yourself in, the more you realize how small you are, how vast the world is, but also, how all of us humans are not so different from each other. We're all carving out little lives, seeking connection and endeavoring to plug ourselves in to the bigger picture. Our time here in this form is finite and no matter the power had or legacy left behind, you cash out at some point, passing the baton to those who follow. Once you discover that you're unimportant, the pressure is off and you can truly allow yourself to live fully, focusing on craft or service or creating something, rather than taking and keeping. And living with good intention, just one person figuring it out, and outside of the false reality that there is a spotlight on you, real fulfillment is possible.
I could very much be getting the wrong read on Maggie O'Farrell. She is, of course, just a stranger to me, no matter how much of herself she pores into her books. Luckily I have a good handful of unimportant people in my own life who offer me similar inspiration. They seem to have tamed their egoes enough to live life for something much greater than themselves. And because they are so unimportant, they don't realize that they are the sages who I look to as beacons during darker times.
Thank you for being here. I love sharing stories from our life on a farm in Ohio with you. As we step into a new year, I wish you happiness in your own little life, contentment with your station, inspiration that draws creativity and inventiveness out of you, peace, and, always, love.
Updates from the Farm:
-2026 CSA: Another year of CSA membership has come! If you want to shop from us throughout the year, this is a great way to shop with us. We give you $20 for signing up, which means you'll have $220 of credit to spend with us. Your credit never expires and you can use it year-round by preordering online and picking up at market or by shopping at market and using your credit there, onsite! You can always refill your membership if you run out mid-season. CSA's make sense for small farmers as most of our costs are up front in the season. For more info or to sign up you can visit our CSA page here:
-Get our Produce and Bakes This Month: We are offering online ordering of our carrots, radishes, beets, cabbage, shoots, microgreens and baked goods with pick up in the Oakwood Farmers Market parking lot located at 22 Orchard Drive on the following Saturdays:
January 10th, 10-11:30 am
January 17th, 10-11:30 am
January 31st, 10-11:30 am
-Taxes and Preparing for the Season: This month I take on our taxes...every January is a little more admin than any other month of the year. Wish me luck. Seed inventory, seed shopping, field rotation planning and hoop house clean up will occupy most of our work hours this month. We will be celebrating both of our guys here on the farm as they celebrate birthdays this month. So, although we have work to do, we take more time this month to find balance.
Thank you for reading.
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