A System on the Brink of Collapse

Autumn is upon us, and with it, the collapse of many natural systems back into the base components necessary to do it all again next year.

The lettuce has bolted. The parsnips are dry. Seeds scatter upon the paths wherever I brush against a desiccated seed head. A whole row is yellowing, and the plants in my "no water" system show me I haven't got it worked out just right yet. My tomatoes have never struggled so hard, right from seed.

But that's ok. This is year two with this hugelkultur hill and swale set up, things are breaking down (on purpose) and I am always learning more. I'm confident next year will be spectacular. I am already making plans!

As I look out over my garden, I can't help but draw parallels with broader aspects of society;

A system on the brink of collapse.

I feel it, it's both terrifying and exhilarating.

How do you address what it looks like to come out of this "covid 19" mess? I use the quotations, not because I don't believe people are sick or dying, but because it is not the virus causing 99% of this collapse. It is our response to it. Covid is taking the blame for many things, but it is our fear that has impacted life the most. Our fear and an exclusive focus on one virus with the exclusion of all other causes of death, our focus on one "cure" to the exclusion of all other immune support. Imagine if we tracked all deaths so closely, reporting them all day in the news. Covid wouldn't be a blip on our radar.

We have all but declared all fields of science not directly pertaining to viral spread and vaccines "non-essential." As though all other aspects of life cease to matter because there's a virus we're told will kill us if we contact it. ESPECIALLY if we're already chronically sick (as though that wasn't true of every other virus and bacteria out there). We write off suicides, drug overdoses, heart attacks, strokes, obesity, and pneumonia or label them fallout of covid 19. No, that is happening because we terrified people into not going to the hospital so as not to overwhelm them. We ignore financial impact, dismiss it with "we're saving lives!" like having to declare bankruptcy and losing everything you've worked for isn't a health risk like not having money to buy food isn't a health risk.

This isn't happening in a lab, this is real life. Everything is intricately interconnected, not packed into conveniently sorted and separate boxes you can control. Just like my garden system, our social system is collapsing. All of our "trusted" virologists and epidemiologists can only recommend hiding indefinitely, waiting for a vaccine while we "sanitize" ourselves at every turn. As though life can actually come to that much of a grinding halt without dire consequences. As though even a small portion of the population would wear a mask correctly instead of INCREASING their risk of transmission and infection by touching and reusing the same dirty mask. As though the environmental impacts of increased disposable mask production and subsequent disposal don't matter as long as we're trying to save humans. As though we've learned nothing new since the Spanish Flu in 1918, while we still refuse to entertain the one measure they took that made an incredible difference in recovery - they moved their sick wards outside, into the fresh air and sunshine. What have we done? The opposite.

People are losing their means to feed themselves and their families, maintain shelter and personal safety, people who have worked damn hard for their health are being told they have to do things they KNOW negatively impact their health. While there's not a hint of information on actually improving your health instead of just running from this virus and waiting for a vaccine. Our "medical experts" now insist that covid is here to stay, that there is no immunity to be had it must just run its course. When your medical experts have no answers and your government profits from the sale of known poisons, it may be time to look to other modalities for your health information.

The system is collapsing. I, for one, relish the fall. It's scary, sure, but I know what collapses is reduced to base components for use in new processes of growth and I am so excited to see what comes from this. I am most excited for this focus on ONLY the medical experts to fall. There are many experts in many fields eager to pick up the pieces of our health and help us assemble something so much stronger. People ready to help us realize our full potential as human beings in charge of their wellbeing. I'm ready for a complete approach to health, one that considers what we put into our bodies, on our bodies, and what we feed to our minds. Too long we have been taught to "stick to what you know" and "leave your health to the experts," our current predicament is where that offloading of responsibility has gotten us, and it is failing. Hard.

We ARE intelligent. We ARE capable of learning how our bodies work and how best to support them. "But there's so much conflicting information out there!" YES. There are so many possible approaches to health because, although we are all built similarly, we do not all function in the same ways. We do not have access to the same foods, nor should we! We should be eating what is fresh and locally available for the greatest nutritional impact. Without the sprays and preservatives, the long treks across land and sea. We have what we NEED right here where we are. If it feels like it's not enough, you know what? We can grow more.

I would argue that the bulk of our healthcare woes could be well sorted by spending time in the garden. The sunlight, the fresh air, the microbial support found in the soil, and all of the nutrient-dense, fresh from the soil food we produce forms the foundation of our immune system. That said, no one lives forever. Not a single one of us, so why do we chase that idea of immortality. Each person's season does come to an end, their body to be reduced to its base components for use in other processes just as it does every other organic life form on this planet. How selfish are we to believe we alone can escape that natural cycle? Even biblical ideas of immortality refer to the soul and not the physical body.

If you're not ready to go yet, perhaps the time has come to open your mind to new possibilities. Perhaps it is your time to pick up the shovel and break that ground.

But I don't have time to garden! I've heard it a hundred times before. Half of the world shut down this spring, and we binged on Netflix and junk food. It's time to make the time. It doesn't take half as much of it as you think. If you have time to grocery shop, you have time to garden, and one will replace the other. The time has come to care about what you put into your body. The time has come to TRY, and see how the way you feel changes. The time for looking outside of your own body and mind for answers has come to a close, it's time to live in a new way so you can have a new experience. Anecdotal, sure, but real enough to you. Try and you may just find your wellness is as infectious as any illness.

It's a little late to put seeds in the ground here. If you're just getting started, fall is the season of wide-scale preservation for winter's harsh scarcity. The cucumbers arrive at local markets by the bucketful. Beans and carrots, berries and apples, cabbages and cantaloupe and so much more are rolling in from all over Saskatchewan and they need YOU to process them for eating all winter long. We're drying, fermenting, canning and freezing, no waste shall be tolerated for THIS is our health care. Our gratitude to the energies of the world for providing this abundance to sustain us through times where nothing grows and the land rests.

If you need me, I'll be in the garden, tending to my health and learning all I can to share with you so you can tend to your health too.