POWER OF SOUL: THE SOUL IS A FORGIVING, HONEST, AND HEALING RECIPIENT OF OUR JOURNEY.

POWER OF SOUL

THE SOUL IS A FORGIVING, HONEST, AND HEALING RECIPIENT OF OUR JOURNEY.

It is a cauldron that receives our glory and our woes. It is where our blood and tears are collected. It is a sponge that absorbs our mistakes. It is a library that catalogs them, so we may return to them when ready. It judges not our folly; it accepts all, and is the willing host of our journey. It incubates wisdom, by being a patient observer of our experience. It makes room for our chaos and appeases it over time. It is the source of our healing, as it retains and cherishes the personal organic-matter we have shed through challenge, to be recycled into action when called upon. The soul is authentic; it tells no story other than its own. A soulful person states her truth, whether it be one of dishonesty or virtue. Her persona is clear and recognizable. The soul seeks expression, and withers under repression. Our egos often obscure the soul, casting a shadow over the deep richness marinating, percolating, and brewing beneath our surface. But as we discover courage, by tapping into organic-matter of the soul, we become honest about ourselves. And as we reveal aspects of our soul to others, we discover that soul-mates abound, making the journey of life less lonely.

Power of Soul is a strand of life at our farm. We have experienced so much failure and agony in our journey, that we could not have persevered without the regenerative nature of the soul. For instance, during our second year of managing livestock, we were breeding 600 ewes. They began dropping lambs in February instead of May - four months early, which reflected only on my poor management of rams. Sometimes one escapes the consequences of such mismanagement, but we did not. That particular February was marked by torrential rains, which brought the creek out of its banks to flood the pasture in which the ewes were held, marooning them on an island. I was able to reach them through floodwaters with tractor and hay, but arrived every morning to dead lambs strewn over the saturated and frigid pasture. I picked their tiny bodies up one by one, feeling the agony of death with each, and delivered them to a hillside graveyard. It was a penetrating and anguishing experience - a form of penance perhaps. I felt so responsible and irresponsible...

Later that year, we recognized we had to do more about the problem of foot-rot, that had arrived with one of the groups of sheep we bought, and was spreading throughout our flock. It is an insidious and unfortunately infectious disease. So, Susan and I spent two cold, long days in December trimming all four feet of each of our 600 ewes. That was an exhausting process, physically and emotionally.

We learned from both of those extreme experiences, and I am happy to report we now lamb in May and can say with confidence we have eliminated foot-rot from our flock! But we couldn't have arrived at that result without the ability to persevere, which called upon our souls. And the remaining ewes who survived those storms with us are now truly our soul-mates!

Last, it takes a lot of soul to simply feed animals every day, which Brendan does so well. We have over 200 animals across six classes of livestock, and to look at them every day and deliver to them their feed and to care about them constantly is a soulful act in itself. As is the feeding and caring of children.

These examples are no different from anybody's journey really, whether in town or country. Children who face confronting obstacles in the classroom, on the playground, with social groups, or on the athletic field are feeding and deepening their souls. The same is true of adults, dealing with the challenges of work, home, children, marriage, illness, and caring for the elderly. Fortunately, the cauldron of the soul is always ready to receive!

Our wetlands below has always felt like a particularly soulful place.

Above is a farmer's market dinner: Grassroots pork loin chops, Walnut Ridge carrots, Kristy's kale, Nathan's apples, and Elmwood sweet potatoes. We grilled the 1 1/4 inch chops for 2 minutes on each side and then put them into a 400-degree oven for 10 minutes.

We will see you this Sunday, Feb 28th at Clark Montessori.

On-line ordering for delivery this Wednesday the 3rd to east Hyde Park, closes Sunday evening the 1st.

Last, but not least, we invite you to take a look at our updated website. We hope this will prove to be even more engaging and easier to navigate than previously:

From our souls to yours,

Drausin & Susan