Wendell Berry is Concerned

(See Bottom for Update)As you may know, Wendell Berry is very concerned about the fate of the environment and sanity our nation’s consumer-driven culture.  But apparently he’s also very concerned about me going off to farm school in the fall.Who would have guessed?!Backing up a few steps, I should tell you that it was Wendell Berry who originally transformed our farm fantasy into today’s purpose-filled reality.  For those who don’t know him, he is philosopher, author and farmer who writes beautifully about the importance of sustainable agriculture to spiritual health and the health of our planet.Since I am traveling to Kentucky next week (which is where Mr. Berry lives) I thought it would be a good opportunity to pay him a visit and soak up any advice he might have to offer for my conversion to farmerhood.So I sent him a letter to thank him for his inspiration and ask if he would entertain a visit.On the day the letter arrived, he called me.Now, I am sensitive to the fact that people like me probably approach him all the time.  But I still think I was expecting him to be somewhat encouraged that his writing had inspired Dina and I to follow him into the fields.Instead, in a concerned voice, he simply wished me well and asked that we be careful in our adventure.  He advised me not to do anything that would put me or our marriage at risk.Hmmm.  Not the pre-game pep talk I was expecting.He stressed that I needed to have a “town job” so we didn’t risk financial ruin by betting everything on the farm.  And he went on to explain that most of people involved in the back-to-the-land movement of the 60’s eventually gave up and abandoned the journey.After touching on a few other brief topics, the conversation was over and I was left holding the phone and a deflated sense of purpose.Sigh.We occasionally feel lonely knowing that most people don’t know what to make of the way we see the world.  “Are you crazy?!” is an unspoken sentiment that lingers in the background of many conversations we have with friends and family as they try to figure out how to be supportive while being scared for us at the same time.Of all the people I had hoped would understand and support this decision of ours, I thought Mr. Berry would.It wasn’t what I wanted to hear, but in fairness I expect Mr. Berry chose his words for me because being a person of his stature and influence carries a unique responsibility.  Powerful writing has the ability to inspire all kinds of people and motivate them to do great things.  But given his advice to me, I am guessing it has motivated people to make some not-so-great decisions too.Not knowing me from Adam, Mr. Berry was probably concerned I’ll be one of the ones who wrecks his life chasing a dream.In time I know I’ll write him again and hopefully be able to pay a visit.  Perhaps by then we’ll have accomplished something more substantial so we can move beyond his reflexive concern.Until then, I think I’ll just stick to his books.UPDATE 8/3/12 -- A friend of mine just forwarded an interview Mr. Berry did in June before delivering this year’s Jefferson Lecture, the federal government’s highest honor for achievement in the humanities.  In it he addressed this exact topic, starry-eyed idealists who reach out to him for advice.  It is pretty priceless in light of my conversation with him:BERRY: Well, I hear from readers a good deal, and I try to answer every letter. I think, because of my commitment to issues of conservation and good agriculture and peaceableness, they find something hopeful in my work.LEACH: What are the principles you encourage, then?BERRY: When they say they’re planning to take up farming, I encourage them to be awfully careful. I have received a lot of letters saying, ‘I don’t like my job. I don’t like where I’m living. I’m going to sell out, and move to the country, and be a farmer.’ It seems to me that the only responsible thing, then, is to write back some version of ‘Be careful’ or even ‘Don’t do it.’TANYA BERRY: Or ‘Keep your job.’BERRY: Yes. Buy a place in the country if you want to and live on it, but keep your job. Don’t put your marriage at risk. Don’t put your livelihood at risk. Because there’s a lot to learn, and why should somebody who has a lot to learn try to take up farming when experienced farmers are failing? So, in writing favorably about farming, I’ve assumed a considerable responsibility that I’ve tried to live up to. People say, sometimes in alarm, ‘You’re discouraging me.’ And I say, ‘Well, yes, to some extent. I’m obliged to encourage you to be thoughtful.’