What is your kitchen, economy, aqua-culture, recipe? (Response #10)

This all feels so cyclic now. Everything seems to be giving the same message. Everyone seems to be saying the same things in theirs blogs (from what I’ve read). To me, honors has start to become… predictable. Now, maybe this is a sign that what is being said is direly important. Maybe. I’m not sure exactly. I really am not sure even what I am saying. But, hey, is that not what a blog truly is? Isn’t it unadulterated thoughts? So I guess that is precisely what this blog will be, thoughts upon thoughts. More will be of better insight than others I’m sure, but even the biggest sluggers strike out sometimes… pretty frequently actually. So, if you dare, join me on this tumultuous terrain called my thoughts.

            I first want to consider our reading for this week, Remembering. I liked it (I am literally laughing out loud right now. I wonder how many times I have used that phrase to describe my feelings of a book). To be honest, I was quite thrown off by the actual structure of the book. Confused as I was, I had a difficult time keeping up with the plot and the timeline of it all, not to mention all of the names and relations. Beyond that however, I was moved by (particularly) a few scenes or ideals presented within the book. Andy’s collateral anger that blew over his family was stark.  I longed for his relations to be made whole for his wife and children. What all went into such a devastating rage? Is it the mere loss of a hand? Is love dependent on appendages? Another aspect of the book that really caught my attention is the irony in which Andy lost his hand. He was farming. He was doing the very thing that is supposed to bring us close together. This ravaged his hand… and his life. To add to the irony, were the results of the accident and how Andy received them. What Berry would say is important to farming and life as a whole is precisely what Andy shunned and despised. Neighbors and friends gave care and beneficial community, but Andy would have none of it and loathed that this was his case. The last story within Remembering that really caught my attention was Andy’s coincidental trip to the Amish farm. It really rung reminiscent to me, having recently been to an Amish farm (with all of you reading this). The generosity and openness are so attractive to Andy and to us Octovetians. What is it about this that makes us idolize them and their lives? At the same time, how many of us are truly going to model our lives after them? Or are we just going to observe, strip away something that tickles our fancy/makes us feel warm and fuzzy about life, and then peace out only to move on to our own lives looking back at the living museum hoping to reap a benefit for ourselves?

            Now that last line might have been a little harsh, but I think it really might begin to cover some of my (so far) unarticulated thoughts from this semester. We’ve been trying to look into all of these different lifestyles and problems to glean new information and new world perspective to change our lives (and I guess the world although that is a bit romantic).  What is the difference between being impersonal thieves of ideas and being a pupil to other ways and listening to them? Clearly, we cannot just become whatever we are trying to learn from. The entire Bible would be pointless to us if we must become what we are trying to learn from. At the same time though, misguided and misunderstanding people have wielded the Bible as a weapon of mass destruction.

            Wow, this has been a lot more rant-y than I expected. So, what is my discombobulated and confused mind trying to say? Not sure entirely. I think it has to do with the semester as a whole. This semester has not been fruitless. I would definitely say that my views have been changed and that even my actions have already been changed. I am more conscientious of resources I use and throw away (as little as that actually helps in the world). I was quite excited at the beginning of the semester when we talked about food production and ecological sustainability. My favorite week was when we read all of the National geographic articles. They were so very insightful while they presented the problem while at the same time presented people’s potential solutions that they are trying to implement now. I guess that is where my (and I know some of my other peers feel the same way) frustration comes in. What are we supposed to do? The world is too big and too ravished for me to actually have a serious impact on it as a whole. Like this week in chapel, we are blatantly told of some issues still present in our society. But for what end are we trying to achieve? These past couple of weeks have been really great to listen to people talk about their own experiences and issues in life. Dr. Koch (sorry for spelling his name wrong in the last blog) and Ryan presented some compelling points. I do feel exhausted after all of this talk in honors. After all of this information and education taken in, I need some vision. I (and I am assuming some others too) need something to rally behind, a proposal or a glimmering idea.  But at the same time I know this cannot happen… There is not one practical application for more than even one person. This, I suppose, is another truth that I am learning, and honors has helped out with. This is why we should not become Amish, and the Amish should not become us. God has called us each to live our own lives. Each of our lives is different. The manifestation of God’s glory that we are so preciously entreasured to carry looks unique for each one of us. While some of us are called to manage three kitchens and try to sustain an urban garden others of us are called to be professors.

            This, as I contemplate the semester as a whole and even this blog at this very moment, might be what this whole semester is about… Allowing Truth to infiltrate one’s particular thoughts and one’s unique actions so that Justice might be served in every corner of the earth is what we need. How did I come to this conclusion? Well, looking back upon the semester and even beyond, I begin to see a pattern. This pattern is lined with passion, struggle, fear, love, hope, hardship, and reality. Sounds a bit like what true living is like. Where did this pattern emerge though? I see it most proficiently in the daily struggle of persons that either represented themselves to us or were presented to us in a different fashion. One great example would be in the struggle Ryan portrayed to us this week in Flint. His story was one of honest and pointed business to better the local area called home. He tries to make right broken circles of economics and twisted views of people through business, opportunity, and some sweat-inducing labor.

            Let me share one more story that hopefully will bring some more clarity to this all, a story that I recently heard in my life. I happened to be watching a documentary on Netflix for my own pleasure. I was not expecting to be confronted with an honors level situation and a perfect example of what I think we are supposed to do as justice-filled people, as Christians would do. Massimo Bottura is a chef at a Michelin three star restaurant. After an earthquake in Modena, Italy where he lives, a leader in the parmigiano (parmesan) business came to him asking for help. A long story short, Massimo used his influence and expertise to construct a new dish that was desired the world round. This saved the industry. In Massimo’s own words, “No one lost a job. No cheese maker closed their doors. That was recipe as social justice.”  Massimo created out of his own work justice. He brought about goodness from a position he was already in (and that goodness just happened to be delicious. It was risotto cacio e Pepe in case anyone is curious. I would be.). I guess that is what we as honors students, as Christians, who want to please the Lord are yearning to hear. We long to hear how God may use our unique gifts to positively alter someone’s life, a town, an ecosystem, and, who knows, maybe even the world…

This is the documentary (that I quoted) if anyone wants to watch.

(http://www.netflix.com/watch/80007951?trackId=14170286&tctx=1%2C1%2Cdf491918-71c5-42db-9335-698ec372a739-21468699)