Embracing the Symphony of Existence
Leaning IN to Authenticity: If I Can Do It, So Can YOU!
Leave it to me to come right out the gate at Substack with an exhaustive 4-part essay on what I─a humble farmer from Maine─thinks is wrong with American society. Not to mention dropping the psycho-mom card! Somehow it felt right, though, to begin that way. The experiences of my past have made me who I am today. They are the reason I believe more of us should be embracing the symphony of our own unique existence and leaning in to authenticity.
Practice
Maybe I needed to expose my past as part of my own process for healing and authenticity. That’s what this Substack is about (in part), afterall: “learning to live an authentic life amid a restrictive society.”
It’s about practicing our authenticity so that we can be our truest selves and lead lives in alignment with our purpose in this world. When you’ve lived your entire life under the threat of criticism, condemnation and rejection, it really does take practice and conscious effort to leave that box behind.
Yet, the road I have walked has led me here─with the freedom to embrace my own individuality─carrying out what I fully believe is my purpose on this Earth. Against all odds, I bought a farm! I am fully convinced that if I can find my way to authenticity, anybody can.
Purpose
I firmly believe that everybody has a purpose on this Earth. You might not know what that purpose is, but it’s there somewhere inside of you. For me, that driving force is wildlife conservation.
At a very early age I found solace and healing in the great outdoors. When things were rough at home, I would escape to the fields and forests. The proverbial tomboy, I spent my days catching frogs in the ponds nearby, climbing trees and riding my mountain bike through the wooded hillsides of Maine.
Gardening came naturally to me, leading me to a life of homesteading and self-sufficiency. I was already farming─growing and raising, making and baking food for my family and neighbors─when it occurred to me that I could use those skills to generate an income for myself, even as a stay at home mother.
It wasn’t until I brought home my first colony of honeybees, though, that I figured out how to tie my devotion to local food together with my affinity for nature. Since then, my initial mission for pollinator conservation has grown into something larger. I’ve become farmer and steward at the Runamuk Acres Conservation Farm in New Portland, Maine.
THIS is my purpose on this Earth.
What Do We Grow?
It’s hard to sum up in one sentence, so when people ask, I generally tell them that Runamuk Acres is a “diverse operation”.
We produce organic vegetables, microgreens, grass-fed lamb, fresh eggs, handmade breads and myriad other baked goods─all of which are sold directly from our farmstand. Through AirBnB, we also offer a farmstaybnb with an exclusive farm-to-table breakfast menu. There’s a remote campsite in the back-40 marketed through HipCamp, and a series of trails running through 40-some acres of forest that has been contracted to the government for conservation for the next 50 years.
That’s how I make my income, anyway. The mission behind it all, however, is about more than just farming─as if that wasn’t enough.
In the Name of Love
Feeding my community and increasing local food access in this very rural part of Maine is an important part of Runamuk’s mission, for sure. However, the driving force behind Runamuk is my own desire to protect wildlife for future generations.
That’s it. That what it all boils down to: I want to save the planet.
We’ll go to great lengths to protect that which we love. Parents devote their entire lives and fortunes to their children. We’ll take a bullet for our one true love. Lie, cheat, steal…all in the name of love.
I. Love. Nature.
A Precious Gift
To me, Earth is a marvel and my existence here is a precious gift. Take this quote from a recent post I wrote at Runamuk’s farm-blog*:
“This landscape─it romances me─seduces me. And I am powerless to resist it. I have become it’s servant, bound to this land to ensure the well-being of all who reside here. A steward conscripted to the duty of protecting this special place.”
We live on a planet in the middle of No-Where Universe fortunate enough to rotate around our star at an optimal distance from the sun, allowing water to remain liquid and life to take root. Over the last 4.5 billion years, that life has evolved and grown in miraculous ways so that there is now an estimated 8.7 million species of plants and animals in existence on Earth.
How lucky are we─to spend our existence on this wondrous planet? With so many other amazing plants and animals? So many fantastical natural wonders? It’s awe-inspiring to think that every species here has grown and evolved over time to fit it’s unique habitat. What a marvel that they coexistence peaceably with the lifeforms around them in this beautifully intricate web of life.
What a gift to spend this existence here on Earth!
What Can I Do?
Nature has given me the strength to put the traumas of my past behind me. I’ve found acceptance and healing there. Being outdoors─working with the soil and animals─soothes my soul and heals my heart. Whenever life becomes overwhelming or unbearable, nature is always there for me. I’ve found a connection and affinity for the natural world that grows stronger with every passing year. And it is that love which drives me to protect nature.
Somehow I recognized even as a child watching Captain Planet on TV, that the impact the average person can have in the war against the environmental is minimal. Sure, you can do all the little things and of course every little bit is a help, but until government starts creating policies that steer us away from fossil fuels, crack down on carbon emissions and open up the market for renewable energies, it’s a lot like blowing smoke in the wind.
What does it say about our government if, by the age of 10, I was already disillusioned with our government and it’s host of sleazy politicians? Even then, I knew the pleas of one child would fall on deaf ears. Washington is all about the money, and so long as corporate greed controls government, the natural world will continue to be at risk. What could I possibly do to preserve this beautiful planet that I love?
Through Farming
For a long time I did not know how I could really make an impact. As my journey progressed and I became first a homesteader and then a farmer, I came to see that─through the act of farming─I could do more good for the environment than any of those Washington politicians will ever do.
When I brought home my first colony of bees, the answer finally came to me. I realized that by focusing on keystone species such as beneficial insects, fungi and soil microbial life─I can promote the health and well-being of the entire ecosystem. This local ecosystem in turn supports the greater regional ecosystem, and that supports the rest of the planet collectively.
THAT is my mission here at Runamuk.
It’s my whole life’s purpose. With every fiber of my being, I believe this is the reason for my existence. And I have worked doggedly to create this small ecological reserve at the Runamuk Acres Conservation Farm in New Portland, Maine ever since.
I Bought a Farm!
Against all odds, I bought a farm!
Me! A girl who comes from a poverty-level, non-farming family, with nary a penny to her name, no college degree and no formal training whatsoever. Through sheer grit and determination I was able to build my agricultural-business even as a landless-farmer. It took 9 years, the death of my Daddy and a divorce to get there, but eventually Runamuk was generating enough income annually to justify investment in real estate.
In June of 2018, I bought my farm as a beginning farmer through the USDA’s Farm Service Agency. Thanks to funds specifically earmarked for women farmers, I was able to buy the house, barn, garage, and 53-acre property where we now reside for $179.9K.
That day changed my life forever and made possible my ambitions for wildlife conservation at the grassroots level.
The Symphony of Existence
Coming from nothing and now having this beautiful house and property, I am grateful every day for the journey that brought me to this place in time. I’ve surrendered myself to the symphony of my own existence─and it. is. beautiful.
Every day I fall more in love with this house, this land and the life I’ve created for myself. Sinking deeper into my own authenticity, I am celebrating my individuality and pursuing my purpose here on Earth. I’m embracing the symphony of existence that is happening all around us─and you can too!
I firmly believe that if I can do it, so can you.
Everyone has their own hardship stories. Don’t let those things─those experiences and traumas─stop you from living a life in alignment with your soul’s purpose. Don’t allow societal constructs to shrink your self into a box you don’t fit in. Every soul on this planet deserves the right to live a life true to themselves─their real, innermost self.
Lean In
It wasn’t until I learned to lean in to the discomfort that inevitably comes with earthly existence that I finally began to heal and move forward with my life. When I stopped seeing the hardships and the angst as a road-block. When I began treating them more like obstacles to be worked around─only then did things begin to flow in accordance with my soul-deep needs and desires.
That is my advice to you, my friend: lean in.
This life is yours to make of it what you will. No one can take that away unless we allow them to─unless we give them permission. Personally, I refuse to shrink my existence ever again and I hope you will join me on that journey. Lean in to embrace your own authenticity, and find peace in the symphony of your existence here on Earth.
Much love to you and yours, my friends!
Thank you for following along with the story of this lady-farmer! It truly is a privilege to live this life serving my family and community, and protecting wildlife through agricultural conservation. Check out my blog at runamukacres.com/blog/ for updates from the farm, and be sure to follow @RunamukAcres on Instagram or Facebook!