Rumsey

Almost all the best people I’ve come across in life I’ve met by accident. Last night a few of us drove over to Rumsey which is the closest town to the farm. To give you an idea of the type of town it is I can confidently say that if you blink, you might miss it. Entering Rumsey limits from the South side a sign reads: Rumsey, Population 92. However, driving the opposite direction, the North sign claims that Rumsey has only 52 people. In either case, let’s just say it’s not hard to know absolutely everybody in the town. Despite its size, Rumsey still has a proper town hall which I’ve been told has been used in the past for just about everything: wedding receptions, parties, movie showings, kids’ plays and even yoga classes. But on this particular Wednesday night, it was not for a party or a movie that we decided to come over, it was for the yoga. Apparently the teacher, Alex, recently moved to Guinda and being passionate about yoga was eager to start a class for all the farmers with their aches and pains. So eager, in fact, that she even offered to trade Full Belly vegetables for classes. (Free yoga, who could resist?)

Anyway…In that moment, experiencing an overwhelming sense of calm as I lay next to a handful of other farmers in child’s pose, I realized that the reason Alex had struck me so profoundly was that she had somehow stirred me. Having time to concentrate on nothing but my own breathing in those few seconds, I came to the somewhat obvious conclusion that it is these people you meet in life, those that inspire you or move you to become better, that are the most valuable.

And it's funny because once you put it into such few words it seems so obvious. Thinking about it is so simply now makes it seem like a silly realization but in any case, it was a milestone just the same.