July 4: “Embrace this moment”
Boy oh boy, it has been a hot minute (and we’re not just talking about the weather!)…
A note from Carlos
Last weekend was fairly ‘eventful’! (No pun intended…promise)
I was out in Revelstoke, catering a wedding for a friend. An old cook of mine, Mike, came out to give me a hand. The wedding went really well! Though the prep/lead-up to the event had me doubting my ability to get it all done in time (with being in farm mode these days), everything got done (both farming and cooking), and all the food was well received. After the wedding, I enjoyed a relaxing hot tub and carried out a sleep meditation where a body scan sent me floating (seemingly weightless) off to sleep.
On Sunday morning, as I was driving back, I got hit by an impatient left-turner who smashed my front corner of my car and ruined my day. I was travelling South, in my lane, minding my own business, when out of nowhere I had to swerve to avoid a head-on collision, and then swerve again to avoid hitting a streetlight! Thankfully, we walked away from this with only minor injuries.
I had some bad bruising on my left side, from my ribs down to my thigh, and Mike had a bit of whiplash… maybe even hit his head.
Again, thankfully, no one was on the meridian, and Mike and I walked away from it ok.
A mortal reflection
“Over the last week, I’ve been doing the bare minimum on the farm and resting as much as possible. One thing that came up for me fairly immediately after the crash was gratitude. Though it may sound like a platitude, I have been reflecting all week on this feeling: I am grateful to have all my limbs and mobility; I am grateful to friends for loving messages and thoughtful gifts/gestures; I am grateful to all of you and all of the market-goers who support me in this life/business venture.
As some of you may know… I am a big fan of the band TOOL. They aren’t the easiest to listen to (that’s what makes it fun!) Their lyrics always tackle big concepts. One of my favourite songs by them is called “Parabola”, I’ll spare you the music but share the words. They are ringing more true than ever this week:
We barely remember who or what came before this precious moment We are choosing to be here right now, hold on, stay inside This holy reality This holy experience, choosing to be here in
This body This body holding me Be my reminder here that I am not alone in This body This body holding me Feeling eternal, all this Pain is an illusion
Swirling round with this familiar parable Spinning, weaving round each new experience Recognize this as a holy gift and Celebrate this chance to be Alive and breathing, the chance to be Alive and breathing
We barely remember who or what came before this precious moment We are choosing to be here right now, hold on, stay inside This holy reality This holy experience, choosing to be here in This body This body holding me Be my reminder here that I am not alone in This body This body holding me Feeling eternal, all this Pain is an illusion Swirling round with this familiar parable Spinning, weaving round each new experience Recognize this as a holy gift and Celebrate this chance to be Alive and breathing, the chance to be Alive and breathing
“This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality
Embrace this moment, remember: we are eternal, all this pain is an illusion”
Back in business!
Despite the incident and subsequent rest/recovery, Carlos has still managed to keep things moving, harvesting, planning, getting out restaurant orders, attending the Weds market, training new farm hands (more on that next week) and getting ready to head to the Sat market. We are back tomorrow with some exciting new offerings of cabbage, cucumbers and our ever-dynamic herb bouquets (now with even more blooms!). It’s supposed to be a scorcher this weekend, so make sure to get there early.
More farm updates next week once we’re back in our groove. Thank you all for the kind words, support and encouragement!
See you soon,
-OKHP Crew