| Nov. 7th, 2009 @ 01:42 pm Business (and gettin' all up in yours) |
|---|
It managed to stop raining for the greater part of our pruning class today. The sun even came out towards the end! We spent most of the three hours just standing around talking about plants, though, so I wasn't exactly warm, despite my layers of longjohns and rain gear and fleece. My toes were so cold (rubber boots and only one pair of socks? Bad idea!) that I just had to get into a warm bath immediately when I got home. And by the time I was done bathing and eating, it had started to rain again. Dammit, I was hoping to go and transplant some corms my neighbour gave me. Perhaps it will ease off again later this afternoon.
My grandparents are in town, and they took us out for dinner on Wednesday night. There were the usual questions about work and school for Jason, my sister and me. The one thing my grandfather seems fixated on at the moment is the fact that he thinks I should be learning about business. As soon as he found out I was taking this gardening class, he asked if there was a business aspect to it. Turns out there isn't, not really, but a lot of people in the class (and teaching it) run their own small businesses, so there's a lot of opportunity to talk about that kind of thing. The last two times I talked to my grandfather, that was what he asked me about. Are you learning about business. No, I'm learning about how to work with nature instead of fighting it, I'm learning how to be a better gardener and how to ask the right questions about a landscape in order to help things grow. That's why it's called a gardening class, not a business class. I know my grandfather is just worried, he wants me to be in a better financial situation than I am, but I'm not asking him for money. It makes me a little bit crazy when family members fixate on my income rather than whether or not I like what I'm doing. I'm paying the rent and feeding myself and other than my parents paying for this class, because they wanted to, I'm not dependent on anyone. I can't say anything to reassure him, because I'm not learning about business and I don't have any current plans to do so, and I don't have any grand money-making schemes up any of my sleeves. I don't need a whole lot of money to live, I'm not a big fan of working all the time, and I feel like I'm doing just fine, but I don't know what to say to people who see it differently.
I'm all right! Don't worry! Business shmizness! The world is changing, has already changed, drastically since my grandfather was my age. Things are not always going to work in the same way. Them's the facts, and I felt better about myself when I read Paul Hawken's address to the University of Portland 2009 graduating class. Here's an excerpt (below), and you can read the whole thing here if you would like.
"There is invisible writing on the back of the diploma you will receive, and in case you didn't bring lemon juice to decode it, I can tell you what it says: You are Brilliant, and the Earth is Hiring. The earth couldn't afford to send recruiters or limos to your school. It sent you rain, sunsets, ripe cherries, night blooming jasmine, and that unbelievably cute person you are dating. Take the hint. And here's the deal: Forget that this task of planet-saving is not possible in the time required. Don't be put off by people who know what is not possible. Do what needs to be done, and check to see if it was impossible only after you are done.
When asked if I am pessimistic or optimistic about the future, my answer is always the same: If you look at the science about what is happening on earth and aren't pessimistic, you don't understand the data. But if you meet the people who are working to restore this earth and the lives of the poor, and you aren't optimistic, you haven't got a pulse."
Yeah, Paul Hawken! You tell 'em. |
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
workslowurgh
confused
