A Fiber Life | ordinary moments on the fiber farm

Let's be real—do you struggle with making decisions? Do you agonize over the next step, spending so much time weighing risks and doing research that you end up stuck and wanting to quit? Since moving to the farm, we've had our fair share of flops—some of them quite funny. We're sharing a few of those stories with you. Plus, we'll talk about the forest thinning project that Greg and our neighbor Josh are working on.

So, if you need a nudge to make your next decision or a reminder that failure is a consistent part of the journey to success, this episode is for you. Let's dive in and explore how embracing those ordinary moments and decisions can lead to extraordinary outcomes.

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You know how frustrating it can be when you’re exhausted and you finally get to lay your head on the pillow at night and then that thought comes in, “I didn’t get anything done today.”? It’s an awful feeling. And then the next thought is, and “When I wake up, I’m going to have to repeat all those things again.” It’s not very satisfying and it can be totally overwhelming. 

Well, I’m going to tell you about how farm life inspired us to try a different way of approaching work. Greg and I will talk about our careers and how our relationship to professional work was so different from the relationship we have now with farm work. And I’m going to tell you about my grampa. He’s the one who showed me a different perspective on completing jobs and projects.  It’s taken decades for me to realize he was onto something special, and I really want to share that with you. So, if you want to find a nicer alternative to the “to-do-list efficiency approach to work”, I’m so glad you are here. I hope you get inspired by our farm life lessons the way I was inspired by my grampa's life lessons.

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Every couple needs a "we" or a third thing—a focal point that exists not solely within one individual but rather something shared between them. Something cherished mutually, binding them together. There is an article by American poet Donald Hall, that left a lasting impression on me. The article is called “The Third Thing.” In it, Hall and his wife Jane Kenyon, also a poet, moved to a rustic farm in Vermont with a pond. The pond magnetized them and created a unit of belonging. It, and the poetry they wrote there, became their third thing. He described how, rather than staring into each other’s eyes, their gazes met and entwined as they looked at the water. Since reading that article, I have always held the idea that the third thing for a couple is essential. It is not an adornment, it is not icing on the cake, it is a central form of companionship. A practice of double attention. The third thing doesn’t have to be anything extraordinary, but it does need to be there. When a couple discovers their third thing, it's akin to finding a shared vision that will fortify their bond and endure over time.

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This season, we've set out to capture and celebrate ordinary moments in our lives on the farm.  Because even the little things like the basics and the mundane are important.  They can be lessons on how to live well and,  in their simplicity or maybe because of it, they can form significant touchstones in our lives. In this episode, I’m going to tell you all about our little frog family.  And Greg and I are going to talk about our bonds with them.  We are going to marvel at how much such a little thing means to us, and why it matters.  And we will laugh about what might actually be a ridiculous but wonderful form of love.  Find some respite with me. Settle in, take a breath. Join me in the peaceful reverence. If you want to be reminded about the magic of life or how it feels to deeply cherish something, or even if you want to find more out about this unique form of love, this episode is for you.   

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It turns out that we humans are terrible at estimating the value of the present. There is a study I just read by Harvard researchers. They found that as time goes on, we regret how easily we let moments go.  So, maybe the question, “What’s next?”  doesn’t need to be answered by moving or with a new big adventure or project.  What if we decided to stop underestimating the value of the present in our own lives and started figuring out how to capture and learn from those ordinary moments that one day the study says we will likely long for? 

For this third season of A Fiber Life we’ve decided to forage our lives for ordinary moments and create an auditory scrapbook of sorts. We are by no means experts in this endeavor.   It’s going to take trying some new things, changing some old habits, and navigating more than a few obstacles, I’m certain of that.  But, in the end, I think it is a worthy thing to work on.  

If this resonates with you, I hope you join us in our exploration and find some peace and respite by listening to the sounds and stories about our little fiber farm on an island in the Pacific Northwest. 

Important Links: 

A Fiber Life Website: www.afiberlife.com

The Study Lisa References: 

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797614542274

Connect with Lisa on social media: 

https://www.instagram.com/afiberlife/

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This is the last episode of season 2. In this episode, I dive into the question, why do I write this podcast? What does reflection of this kind mean to me and others? And when the magic seems dimmed, how can we get it back? I talk to Laura Davis, author, writing teacher and retreat leader about the act of writing and its healing potential especially when it’s shared with others. Greg and I reflect on the podcast season and our farm life. And you won’t want to miss this—while at the beach where something very, very special happens. I’ll take stock of where things are right now on the farm, and show you how writing really does lead to magic. So if you are feeling like you can’t see the forest through the trees, like you need to have some time to breath, this episode is for you.

If you’d like to attend the same retreat I attended, Writing as a Pathway, with writer and author Laura Davis, the next one is coming up later this summer at a beautiful retreat center in northern California. I highly recommend Laura’s retreat as a safe, supportive place for dealing with grief, change or life transitions of any kind: https://lauradavis.net/writing-as-a-pathway/

For more on Laura, visit her website here:

https://lauradavis.net/

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Humans are no different than guanacos or sheep or any other animal that finds comfort in the presence of others. We rely on each other for help and support, warmth and protection. But as humans, sometimes it’s difficult to ask for help and support.

In this episode, we dive into the question: “Why is it so hard to connect with others and create a sense of community?” I share the beginnings of what may become a vibrant fiber producers guild, and introduce you to my partner in this endeavor, Katie Whitlock. Our new friend, Brittany Bobbit, gets recruited to our Mud Support Group. And Greg and I talk about our very slow progress on a goal we set in 2020. So, if you wish for more connection and a sense of community, like we do, join us. Maybe something we say will inspire you to take some steps yourself. 

The Full Transcript can be found at www.afiberlife.com

This podcast is a production of the Bright Sighted Network. 

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Sometimes the best things in life are about the process, not the product. Working with your hands vs. working with your mind. In this episode, I sit down with several spinners to understand their motivation and love for the art. In this episode, I’m telling you about how I ditched a product-led, checklist kind of life, and learned to engage more with the everyday process of living. I talk with others living that life. Josefine Waltin is a Swedish fiber artist who teaches students to spin by teaching them her philosophy of connection with raw fiber. And Kim Biegler of Ewethful Fiber Farm and Mill tells us about the realization when she rescued a 400 lb bale of Suffolk wool from being burned by the shepherd who needed room in his barn. Greg and I share about the transformation that’s happened to our hands, and how going from using our brains, to using our hands has improved us for the better.

The Full Transcript can be found at www.afiberlife.com

This podcast is a production of the Bright Sighted Network. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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We’ve lost 6 animals in the last 3 years on our farm: five guanacos and one goat. Now, as a therapist, I’ve sat with so many dear clients in the grips of death and tragedy and the pain that floods in when we lose loved ones. And I’ve faced my fair share of grief personally. But when my goat Milo died, I was hit like a brick.  

You’d think that my familiarity with grief and loss would help me when Milo and our 5 guanacos died. But it didn’t. And after talking it through with Greg and some other special people, I’ve come to understand that this new loss experience was different than the others I’ve experienced in the past. It was different because it didn’t come with a ready-made ritual or a way to communicate what happened. There was no Shiva or Wake, or even a plan for what to do after we said ‘goodbye.’ There was no narrative or story to provide comfort. And I needed that. I needed a story and a ritual that soothed me. Because without that, I was just left with unresolved sadness and a nagging feeling of not knowing what to do if it happened again. Honestly, I was just ready to quit the whole thing because it was all too much.

So, I went on a mission to find the answer. To make a story. To create a ritual that provides comfort and solace. And I actually found one. 

The Full Transcript can be found at www.afiberlife.com

This podcast is a production of the Bright Sighted Network. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Have you ever thought about what you’ll leave behind when your time on this planet is up? An amazing accomplishment of mine had me recently experiencing an existential dilemma. Searching for answers about where all of my prized fiber and tools will go when I’m gone, I turned to my daughter Ruth, and good friend Ann. We also try to figure out if you can ever have too many crafting supplies. In the end, I get the feeling my concerns are the same concerns shared by creators everywhere. This is an episode for anyone with a million ideas and not enough time to do them all.

The Full Transcript can be found at www.afiberlife.com

Get 15 % off your order with the code “AFIBERLIFE15” at checkout. You can use the link in our show notes. https://smallpackages.co?sca_ref=3459552.rhQIKNxovN

This podcast is a production of the Bright Sighted Network. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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