Crop Rotation

Crop rotation. 

I’m certainly not a farmer, and I can barely even call myself a gardener except for a few herbs I’ve managed to keep alive. However, I remember learning about something called crop rotation in elementary school. 

Apparently, if you continue to grow the same crop year after year you run into problems. Soren Kierkegaard states it this way, “One cannot use the same field to grow the same crop indefinitely, eventually the soil must be refreshed by planting something new or simply taking a break.”

I think these simple words might explain my philosophy on life. I am definitely a crop rotator. I’ve never been able to do the same thing over an extended period of time without getting restless. Perhaps this comes from being raised as an Army brat. Each two to three years we would move to a new state or even a new country. 

Now I used to think that it would have been better for me to have been raised in a hometown. I used to think that having roots would have served me better. However, now in my sixth decade of life I’m not really so sure. 

I am very much like my father, in fact Chuck has always referred to me as Phil Cunningham in a woman’s body. Our shared interest in books, and history, art, and politics also includes our sense of adventure only found in the next new place. 

After Dad retired he made Vermont, Mississippi, Arkansas and Texas his home. Predictably he moved about every two to three years. He returned to his home state once over the years, only to find himself back in Texas less than a year later. 

I can always tell when I’m ready for something new. I begin to feel restless and bored. If I’m not physically changing location I know I need to find something new and different to keep me engaged. It’s then I know that  it’s time to rotate the crops. 

In doing so life becomes interesting again, and I find myself content. Sometimes too allowing ourselves a season of rest is just what we need. After my father passed away I needed a season of rest after caring for his affairs for several years. I needed just to catch my breath. 

If your days are becoming just a little too predictable it might be time to rotate the crops.