The Three Certainties (of Life)
Keipos Intership//Entry 12//The Final
Finally. A spare, quiet second to write. So, I guess, to start, here’s a quick update:
- I finished my internship with Keipos and New Earth Farm & Goods, receiving my Permaculture Design Certificate. I now officially have the knowledge to design sustainable systems.
- I am moved back to Columbus, Ohio.
- I have been back in Ohio for three weeks now, starting my new job as Lead Resident Advisor at my college.
- I start school today, beginning my Junior Year of college.
- I’m excited for this year and all of the challenges and achievements it will bring.
- I miss Omaha. I miss Nebraska. I’d love to move back one day.
- I miss my family and friends back home.
- I miss farming.
I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on my time on the farm. I’ve started this blog over ten times, never really feeling like I have the right words to say. Yesterday, I started re-reading my old blogs. I found that what I wrote about and learned in just my first week of farming now resonates with me on completely new levels. Specifically, The Three Certainties of Farming. Re-reading that blog, those certainties hit home for me. Not just as certainties for farming, but for life. I have come to understand, in my short time away from the farm, how much the work of farming can transcend into everything you do.
So now, without further ado, and in a rather circular end to this story, I will go through the Three Certainties once more.
Certainty #1: Life is Constant Problem Solving.
“I noticed this within the first couple of moments on my first day. We are always tasked with problems and a need to immediately solve them.”
“You’ll be working on something, but something else will come up that you have to drop everything for to take care of. The problems can be small, like fixing the chicken fence, or herding the ducks. But they can also be huge, like having weeds in every garden…”
I hadn’t really thought about life this way until after this summer, but seriously, we are constantly using our noggins to solve problems! You don’t go through day to day life without solving some problems along the way. “How am I going to get lunch today?” “When can I make myself available to meet with my boss?” “How will I get to the market without a car?” “How do I best word this email to this person I’m trying to impress?” “What shampoo do I buy?” The list goes on and on. Our abilities to problem solve, use logic, and have thoughts of our own is what makes us human.
I used to think one of my skills was problem solving. But now I think that while it is a skill for me, it is also a weakness. It’s a weakness in two ways. Sometimes, when I am faced with a problem, I can get obsessed with it. I do my best to find out everything about the problem, overthink it, and continuously worry about it instead of either solving it, or ignoring the problem all together. In another way, I’m just flat out not great at problem solving in the moment. I clam up, I pause, I get nervous. I freeze because I want to solve the problem in the best way possible. And for me, the best way possible has always been in the interest of everyone else except for myself. I’ve always tried to solve problems in my life by attempting to please other people, instead of also looking out for myself.
After this summer, that mindset has changed.
Sure I still have trouble putting my own needs aside for others, it's an imbedded quality of stewardship I don’t know if I’ll ever really let go. But I have learned that if you go out set to solve a problem for everyone, you’ll never be done. You cannot perfectly fix everything for everyone, because everyone’s solutions are going to be different. And you just don’t have time for that. You’re not going to be able to please everyone in life. As I get older, this statement is turning into less of a scary fact, or even a challenge, to a relief. It’s relieving to know that the world will still turn on its axis even if not everyone likes the way I handle a situation. This acceptance of my imperfection has given me more confidence, more room to grow and be myself, and more room for me to take on higher leadership positions.
So yes, be a great problem solver…but also don’t be a great problem solver. Do what’s best for you, and let go of anything that doesn’t work to grow you, serve you, or make you happy.
Certainty #2: Life is Abuse
“Because of the drudgery and the hours and the exhaustion that this kind of work demands it does attract people who are attracted to a certain kind of abuse.”
“ I will get to experience not only the changes that happen to my body and mind, but also to the other interns, the farmer, and nature all around us.”
Life really kicks you in the ass sometimes. Some days, it feels like the entire world is against you. You dropped your pen, and then it broke, then you spilled your coffee on your nice shirt right before an interview, which probably didn’t go well because of the stain on your shirt, then you missed the bus, so you had to walk home — need I go on? The struggles of day to day life, no matter how minor or severe, add up, and they can burden us. Some of us have experiences in our lives that haunt and affect us, some of us are living through tough times now, some of us are living in a particularly happy tine — whatever your situation may be — treat each other with respect. Treat each other with kindness. Give each other love. You have no idea what someone else could be going through, so there’s no reason for you to to add to their pain, or for them to yours. Be kind, be gentle, be soft. You’ll be stronger for it.
Also, if life is going to be hard anyway, choose to do the shit that you love more than anything — and never apologize for it. Or work to make you able to do the shit you love. I know we all have certain expectations because of where we’re from, what we identify as, how we were raised, and about a billion other factors — but seriously, choose what you love over everything else. Choose to love over everything else. If you choose to love, no amount of evil and no amount of pain will ever be able to bring you down.
“most importantly love
like it’s the only thing you know how
at the end of the day all this
means nothing
this page
where you’re sitting
your degree
your job
the money
nothing even matters
except love and human connection
who you loved
and how deeply you loved them
how you touched the people around you
and how much you gave them”
-Rupi Kaur, Milk and Honey

Certainty #3: In Life, You Can’t Be a Perfectionist.
“If you try to do everything perfect out here, you’ll never get anything done. You get a problem, you solve it, and you move on. Yes, you can reflect later on how to do a task better in the future, but most of the time, things need to be done quickly. Nature can change in the blink of an eye. If we stand around thinking about the best way to plant tomatoes, we spend more time thinking than we spend planting, and before we know it, rain starts pouring down and we can’t do anything.”
Perfection doesn’t actually exist except for in the human mind. It is a conception. It’s something we made up. There is no way you can achieve perfection unless someone else thinks you’re perfect, and even then, you’re only perfect in their mind. Perfection isn’t real.
Is this a relief to anyone else? Like, shit, hallelujah!
Remember all of that constant problem solving in life? If you were to try to perfectly solve each one of those problems, well, you’d be there all day! And let’s face it, not every single problem you come up against is really going to be worth your time. Farmer Jon called this 80/20. The 80/20 rule, or the Pareto Rule, states that the majority of the outcomes in your life result from a smaller percentage of your inputs. An example of this in farming would be when we harvest an entire bed of spinach. When you harvest the spinach, your legs are straddling the entire row, and you’re in a half squat, for thirty minutes or however long it takes you to harvest all of the greens. So basically, it’s a glute and leg burner. All you need to do, is bend down, cut off handfuls of spinach, and throw them in the bin. However, sometimes there’s weeds in the handfuls. You could choose to pick them out right then and there, or you could save yourself from a sore bum in the morning and choose to sort out the greens when you wash them. 80/20. You got all the spinach harvested in record time, don’t have a sore bum or thighs, and you can start washing and drying sooner — your 80% outcome. You only half squatted and harvested spinach for about 30 minutes, without picking out the weeds — your 20% input. The 80/20 rule can be applied to all parts of your life. Yes you can apply it to business and money making tasks, but I believe looking to apply it to your overall well being should be your main concern.
The Resident Advisors at my school have a 2 week training period at the end of their summer, which is approximately 20% of your summer. We work hard during these two weeks, and because of that our entire year as RA’s are better. We are prepared for 80% of what we come up against, the rest we learn on the job and through experience.
Taking 20% of your week to keep a planner, refer to that planner, and plan our your days or even the entire month, shows up in the 80% of success you will have with time management. Getting clear bearings, and clear direction of what your next move is, cuts down on time later when you’re too stressed to make clear decisions.
If you spend 20% of your time during a day you choose to meal prep healthy meals for yourself throughout the week, your 80% of outcomes will show up in your wallet (heck yeah to saving money) and in your health.
If 20% of your day is dedicated to yourself and your own self-care it shows up in 80% of how positive you’ll feel the rest of your day.
If you work really hard 20% of the time when doing a task, you’ll get a task done more quickly and more correctly, resulting in higher satisfaction and more free time. Do your work when you are awake, feel good, and are in the right mood. You’ll get your work done so much faster than if you’re trying to work hungry, sleep deprived, and moody!
If you analyze your life, figure out what makes you the most happy , figure out what outcomes really do nothing for you, and then adjust your efforts accordingly. Put your efforts into activities with outcomes that serve you, grow you, and make you happy. Put your hard work into your passions, quit working hard just to work hard. Work smarter, not harder, and forget about being perfect. You define you, you work for you, and you do you. Finally, I’ll leave you all with this:
“The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself.” — Anna Quindlen
— — —
Thank you all for reading my work and supporting what I do throughout this summer. Thank you for giving me the inspiration to continue to do what I love. I hope to write more this semester, so be on the lookout for new pieces. Again, thanks so much for taking this ride with me. I hope you all problem solve, kick life’s ass, and find your 20% like the badasses you are.
— Farmer Mariah
