Meetings over food are always so delicious.

“Alright team, we have a festival to pull off, each of you is here because you felt the call… now lets get creative.” This steller team of people have all since dispersed into the mystery again. I appreciate them all, each individual at the table with us. I want to use this energy to generate a call to our heart tribe. May we embody grounded, rooted cooperation.

Contemplations at the Udder

Contemplations at the Udder

What I have learned from milking our cow.

I was crouched down on the forest floor, my hands squeezing the udders of our beloved cow Anabel, a bucket of milk half full, when I realized that I have learned some deep truths from this simple act. Amused at the thought, I pondered as my arms ached from squeezing, my legs from squatting, and the cow mooing patiently. I wanted to list some of these lessons, to share them and get a little laugh in the process.

 

• Abundance comes at a Cost – Any of you who have had a cow know what I mean when I say there is an abundance of milk… perhaps that is an understatement, there is an over-abundance of milk. There is so much milk, that after a few minutes of milking her, you may begin to wonder, “wow, this is a lot of milk, how much more could there possibly be?” This abundance, however, must be earned, as it takes a lot to squeeze all the milk out, which results in a burn that reminds me of the gym, so I push through it, figuring that someday I will be so strong, it won’t hurt anymore. Now let’s look at this from the cow’s point of view. Our cow, Anabel, is a Jersey Cow, which means that her ancestors have been modified from their natural form to produce way more milk than they need to. Anabel produces enough milk for at least 2 families and her own baby. If she is not milked then the baby can get sick from too much milk and die, and she can get a serious infection and loose the ability to produce milk, even die. So, when I find her in the mornings and milk her, I feel a deep sense of service and caretaking that brings me joy. Her abundance though has a cost for her, she is dependent on people to care for her. I can only imagine, as I remember producing milk and the pain that can come from being engorged, what it would feel like to suffer to that degree. Abundance comes at a cost.

• Balance must be maintained to avoid suffering and cultivate strength – While milking 2 of the 4 udders, I try to keep a good rhythm, and rest both hands equally, so as to not strain one over the other. I figure, I want to keep my muscles balanced, or else I may have one arm freakishly larger than the other. This also serves in making sure there is enough to eat for the baby cow, so I have to gauge how much to take from each udder to stay in balanced. I also have to balance my efficiency with her patience.

• Even with Abundance there is no shortage of Processing – People are all striving to achieve abundance, but man, when you got it you have to process it, and its way easier with a tribe. Seriously, the fridge fills with milk and if you aren’t on it, it can go bad. Luckily, the carnivorous animals love sour milk. So, I have gotten to make butter, yogurt, kefir, cheese, sour cream, leche agria, and sweet cream. I am always thankful when there is someone here to share the responsibility and tasty rewards with. The responsibilities of cultivating self sufficiency are heavy, so it helps to share. 🙂 The only catch is that you also have to do a lot of processing when living together with other people, especially those who have been raised out of healthy tribes. Oh, and there’s also the taxes that come with financial success. Allot to process.

• Seek and ye shall find – This is true, although not every time and when you want. So many times I have walked into the maze pasture of our rainforest landscape and not found the cows. She speaks local spanish, so she doesn’t come when I call her, so I seek and there have been times the sun went down and I worried. If I jump on it with enough times to find her before dark and still water the gardens, I will always find her. Yesterday, was the sweetest moment of this aspect, when I walked on the hiking trail by the stream, around passed the Mother Tree, and up to Hermit hill, where I found a huge vulture feather and imagined a communal star dome gazebo. Then, walla, there she was and I guided the two of them back to the stall where they sleep. That time sure beat the one where I was crouched over in the field with a stomach ache at dusk, months earlier.

 

I am sure there are plenty more I will learn as I nourish this relationship between my friend and our food. There are so many waves in living this life, but really, I wouldn’t change a moment of it. But if you ask me in the moment of suffering, I’d probably cry and plea. That is all the journey of this experience we call life, right. Anabel is one of my many unlikely teachers in this new farm life that we have manifested. Until next time…