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| English, why do I have to learn that-I'm never going to live in England |
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| An Udder Delight |
The core formative experiences that all young people should pursue are : hard work to appreciate the benefits of labor, travel to understand deprivation and want, the power of reading, the importance of nurturing your body. What better place to do it all then on a rural farm in England.
I am reminded of The Law of The Farm, where there are no easy fixes, and where it takes 10 years to become an overnight success.
In fact, Instant gratification takes too long---Adolescence is a gift, perpetual adolescence is just plain wrong. As I take my annual trip to America this week, I will be hard pressed to see the difference between kids ages 10, 15, 20 or 25. Growing old is not optional, growing up is.
The coming-of-age rituals that have defined AmeriCANS since the early pioneer days--learning the value of working with your hands, leaving home to start a family, becoming economically self-reliant–are nowhere to be found today. "I Consume therefore I am" has nothing to do with creativity and a life worth living. You gotta produce. Material success without fulfillment eqauals failure.
That dirty, sweaty, achy work you get on a farm builds character- I know, I have dug ditches, cut grass, layed cables, hauled sand and bricks. This farm I am visiting makes me want to celebrate work and service and guide others out of miliniel boredom.
Just do something!
I chose travel experience to far away places to bulid intentional scar tissue. What is ethical about a work ethic, if it doesn't incude that. It makes for resilency and the abilty to persevere under impossible conditions, a kind of mental bodybuilding.
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