Opening the trap...

Do you remember the days of believing everything you were told? Of being told and then going along because - well, that was the way it was? Or simply just believing because it was easier than questioning and then, (ugh!) following up?

Ok, truth is, I can be accused - rightfully - of falling into that comfort zone as recently as today (maybe). And, why not? Some of it is bound to be true/right/whatever...right? Most of it is of no consequence whether true or not. However, a friend recently challenged me to take a look further and, so here I am.

I'm beginning a new book (and, perhaps a new chapter - we'll see) called "Bringing It to the Table" a collection of essays by Wendell Berry.

Wendell Berry (born August 5, 1934, Henry County, Kentucky) is an American man of letters, academic, cultural and economic critic, and farmer. He is a prolific author of novels, short stories, poems, and essays. He is also an elected member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers. ~ Wikipedia

The challenge (and, no... my friend didn't say "I triple-dog dare you") is to look beyond the grocery shelves and see the entirety of the food supply chain (a term near and dear to my paycheck, if not my heart). She was explaining her thoughts on the humane or in-humane ways in which we Americans now feed ourselves. And, well, I rarely back down from a challenge.

So, here I sit, reading the first of Mr. Berry's essays. One in which he talks about the old days when farmers knew their land intimately and would farm based on the nature of the land. One sentence Mr. Berry applied to the farmer and the land struck me as important for conversations with ourselves, our land and others:

"A conversation is immitigably two-sided and always to some degree mysterious; it requires faith."

I'm gonna let that marinate for a while (pun very much intended).