It is finally lunchtime at the office and you are more stoked than ever. You valiantly strut through the office like a prince going to save the princess only your mission is to feed yourself with the quick meal you packed. The micro-wave beckons you and as you get closer your stomach dances with joy as you have a hearty lunch of butternut squash soup awaiting you. Five minutes later you have a welcoming bowl of deliciousness that you have been patient for, for 3 hours now. Thankful for the meal you dig in, savoring what you have in front of you and grateful that such a meal even exists. Yet, do you know why it exists?

Since neolithic times, man has been planting, harvesting, and saving seeds from wild and domestic plants. A meal, a source of income, and a future stem from seeds due to a process that has seen the light of day and the dark of night for thousands of years now. Mankind is been a steward of the land for generations, tending to this process. We watch it diligently in hopes of a harvest and for a successful livelihood. However a newly formed agrarian society 12,500 years ago was not automatically in tune to this process. In fact, we had no idea what we were doing.

Just like a business owner of today, our ancestors during neolithic times took risk, assessed damage, and made revisions. Seeds were planted and they either grew and survived into a healthy plant, grew and survived into a diseased plant, or didn’t grow at all. My time spent farming the land has seen this happen many times. All I could really do was except what happened and move on to the next challenge of my day. You see seeds teach us patience; and this patience is like no other because it is taught to us by dormant embryos of a completely different species that gets its nutrition from an endosperm.

The English poet William Blake once said “In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy”. To reach the winter where enjoyment is felt by all, we must connect with seeds and foster the patience they can teach us. While we sow the seeds we have kept close to our bodies we should be open to a den of intellectualism. Lastly, while we harvest let us be mindful of the beings around us so that they reap not just food, but a lesson to last generations.

Food teaches us to appreciate with what began the meal. For every fruit and vegetable we consume, the seed is what started it all and to it we owe our thanks. So the next time you have butternut squash soup, I challenge you to take upon yourself an inquisitive nature. Remember the seed that started it all and the gift of patience it has taught for thousands of years.

 

-Peace to all,

David Gambino