Discussion Facilitated by Bruce Cantwell. January 4, 2020.
On New Year's Eve we watched the documentary The Biggest Little Farm, which "follows two dreamers and their beloved dog when they make a choice that takes them out of their tiny L.A. apartment and into the countryside to build one of the most diverse farms of its kind in complete coexistence with nature."
For fun, I made some comparisons between lines in the movie and lines in The Way of Life according to Lao Tzu.
WAY: In the beginning of heaven and earth there were no words,
Words came out of the womb of matter. [1]
FARM: Whenever I look up at the Milky Way, I feel so captivated by its complexity, and yet it's easy to forget that Earth is a part of it. It's almost impossible to grasp that I actually spin inside of that which I see. [2]
WAY: The sanest man
Sets up no deed,
Lays down no law,
Takes everything that happens as it comes,
FARM: Sometimes I wish it weren't true, but it's those tiny revelations that are borne from failure that act as a fuel for the engine of our ecosystem. And if I'm paying attention, I get to use it.
WAY: People through finding something beautiful
Think something else unbeautiful,
Through finding one man fit
Judge another unfit.
FARM: It's a heart-breaking realization: the coyote might not be just a pest. He may very well be our friend.
With Rosie the guardian dog protecting our chickens, the coyotes are now focused on hunting gophers. All pests, even gophers, have a beneficial role. For one, they aerate our soils.
WAY: Man at his best, like water,
Serves as he goes along:
Like water he seeks his own level,
The common level of life.
FARM: You just tap into a power of nature that you can ride without an extraordinary amount of effort.
It's exactly the same thing as surfing.
A flywheel in motion.
You're establishing this equilibrium.
Complexity, diversity, all supporting and enhancing each other. You will see a web of life.
WAY: Existence, by nothing bred,
Breeds everything.
Parent of the universe,
It smooths rough edges,
Unties hard knots,
Tempers the sharp sun,
Lays blowing dust,
Its image in the wellspring never fails,
But how was it conceived?–this image
Of no other sire.
FARM: Of all the things that have happened, the most difficult thing for us to achieve, was that which was happening beneath our feet.
It was dead, compacted, void of diverse life, but not anymore.
Because as we added cover and life on top, a process billions of years old awakened. And they returned.
Now, on this little farm, there are up to 9 billion microorganisms, 9 billion microorganisms churning away at decaying life forms, alchemizing death to life in just one clump of healthy soil.
Everything that dies gets broken down into minerals and nutrients to feed plants. Our farm is energized entirely by the impermanence of life.
1 Bynner, Witter. The Way of Life According to Lao Tzu: an American Version. Day, 1944.
2 Chester, John (director) The Biggest Little Farm. Neon. 2019.