In Farm’s Way

As a city-dweller for the last decade and a half, I often find myself imagining a more rural life. I suppose it is a common feeling for many urbanites; a romantic imagination for the pastoral rhythms.

I loved spending farm-time with the Stevens family on this foggy day. People talk about a “different pace of life” when comparing city living versus the country; and I found that difference palpable… and then found myself wondering, “Why?”

Allow me to present a theory… well, after I present a metaphor. Have you heard about the UK study recently suggesting that couples who sit close to each other will start to match breathing rhythm and heart rate? Cool right? Our bodies are so naturally sympathetic that, when we’re close to someone we love, our natural rhythms start to sync.

Perhaps a version of that is happening to us when we spend more time in nature. Animals do not clock-in or clock-out. Trees have no sense of working toward the weekend. For us, we can use single minutes to measure productivity or how quickly we respond to an email. For a farm, seasons are a useful measurement of the passage of time; which is much, much slower than how we typically pace our lives. So when we draw close to a different, slower heartbeat - a deeper, more calm breath - it would make sense that our own heartbeat steadies. While I may stay a city-dweller, I hope to practice and maintain this other, slower, more accurate heartbeat.