Why “The Art of Waiting”?
Why “The Art of Waiting”? Because life on a farm is about waiting: waiting for coffee cherries to ripen; waiting for pigs to go into heat, to gestate a new brood, and then to give birth; waiting for the rains; waiting 12 months for a cured ham to age gracefully into prosciutto. But waiting does not mean falling into idleness or inactivity. There is an art to patience. We must adhere to Nature’s calendar, but must work hard in the meantime. We try our best to curb the farm’s natural chaos: stopping vines from suffocating baby coffee trees, pruning plants, feeding animals, breaking termite mounds, painting walls, trimming hooves.
Writing, too, requires a good amount of waiting. The creative process, like farming, demands periods of activity and then contemplation. Putting words on a page (or, in my case, typing them on keyboard) makes me feel productive, but my most fertile moments are often when I’m away from my desk and my computer. The best ideas aren’t forced. They arrive because we’ve kept a space for them in our minds, like keeping a chair empty at the table for long-awaited guest.
Themocracy
Dear Francis,
I wish you many fertile moments. We are all enjoying your book in the Netherlands very much. Thank you. Joeska, editor House of Books
Dear Francis,
I loved your image of an empty chair waiting for its guest. That stillness and contemplation can be your best friend…if you can stand the waiting!!!
Farming has been romanticized in the West so much. Please tell us how the shade farming works (I wear hats in the sun so I am a big fan of the shade)
Thanks for including me in your writings,
Ruth Wenger
Thanks Ruth! Will keep you posted.
I am enjoying your blog about your new venture. I do hope in the future the empty chair at my table will be filled with a new book by Frances’s1
Thank you for the kind words Kim! They are great incentive for me to get writing. Thanks for letting me be your “guest.” Please do keep in touch. xoxo Frances