Other Ag News: The Immense Power of a Pause

“The pause is a place of immense potential and power. Cultivating a relationship to the pause means cultivating a relationship to possibility.” – Octavia Raheem

Farmers and earth workers at an agricultural retreat walk together in evening silence. Photo by Jamie Johnson

Farmers & earth workers know about rhythms:  rise and set of the sun and moon; warm and cold of the day and night; wet and dry of the Spring and Summer.  Those of us that work in rural areas where quiet prevails, even sometimes hear the thud of our footsteps as we cross the grass, left and right….or the beating of our hearts as we push our physical limits, pump and rest.

A few years ago, in my work as an agricultural educator, I started getting curious about the rhythm of meetings, trainings, and classes.  It often felt like they were consistently fast-paced and action-packed, with an assumption that there was never enough time to do or learn all that was needed. I wondered how they might feel differently if the educational design included more pauses – moments of silence that might offer rest for our minds and hearts.  I yearned for intentional breathing room to hold the joys and sorrows present in the room.  Along with the knowledge and skills we farmers and earth workers are eager to share with one another, I wanted open space to invite our imaginations to wander and play, giving rise to new possibilities.

Ella Cara Deloria,  a Lakota writer and educator spoke of the importance of this in her writings “The Way of Silence”.  She said “We Indians are not afraid of silence. In fact, for us, silence is more powerful than words. Our elders were trained in the ways of silence, and they handed over this knowledge to us… People should regard their words as seeds. They should sow them, and then allow them to grow in silence. Our elders taught us that the earth is always talking to us, but we should keep silent in order to hear her”

Today, in the Retreats and programs I lead for the agricultural community, one of our guiding Touchstones, or values, in how we relate while in conversation is “Trust and Learn from the Silence”. We ask that participants treat silence like a member of the group, allowing a pause after each person speaks.  This ensures that we receive whatever was shared, without rushing in to react, agree, disagree or change the subject. In the pauses between, we gaze into the center of the circle in which we sit.  Keeping our attention on the shared space in the middle of our circle helps us to remember that we are physically forming a container for the words each person speaks. The pauses enable the words to grow in our hearts and minds as we contemplate each person’s perspective and truth.

Ella Cara Deloria offers another important perspective in her teaching above, which is that there are many non-human voices ‘always talking to us’. Farmers know this well, attuning to bird song, listening to the earth crackle with fresh rain, or noticing the songs of the wind.  But our teaching and learning venues are often indoors, sealed off from the web of life. Creating moments in our agricultural programs where we intentionally contemplate our interconnectedness to all things reminds us that we are part of an abundant, resilient ecosystem that is much greater than its individual parts.

So, what about Octavia Raheem’s words ““The pause is a place of immense potential and power. Cultivating a relationship to the pause means cultivating a relationship to possibility.” I have noticed that when our educational programs are fast-paced, we tend to be in reaction mode.  We are trying to keep up, process all that is coming at us, and organize what we want to contribute to the conversation. When we pause, we offer participants a period of recovery.  We may need time to recover from tension in the room or discomfort we’re experiencing.  We surface to notice how we are feeling and what we genuinely want to contribute.  With enough pauses, we become more present.  We might even begin to imagine, create and dream.

This is a challenging time to be growing food and sustenance for ourselves, our families and our communities.  To me, it feels more important than ever to pause, to receive one another with greater attention, tune in to the voices of the earth, imagine new ways and remember old ways. If you’re drawn to creating more pauses on your farm, or in your meetings and programs, you can learn more at our Small Farms Program Growing Together website, or join us for upcoming events.   https://smallfarms.cornell.edu/projects/growing-together/

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