While seizing the opportunity to turn some compost in the rain it occurred to me that it was a perfect analogy to life.
Sometimes life gets hard. Real hard. It happens. When it does, confront the challenge. Turn the compost over and over and in due time it will turn into the magic fertility that will feed the rest of your life.
First, let’s talk about compost. I’m pretty crazy about compost. Compost is basically a blend of organic material that breaks down over time. The carbon and nitrogen get most of the attention when people talk about compost, but one critical ingredient that doesn’t get as much attention is water.
I had a pile that was a little overdue for turning and when it rained other day I seized the opportunity to get out there and turn the pile with a pitch fork.
While I was out there it occurred to me how brilliant this analogy is to life.
Compost is a big pile of shit
I follow Geoff Lawton’s guidance by building my compost pile by layering organic material while trying to strike a carbon to nitrogen balance.
The greens are mostly nitrogen, the browns carbon.
I don’t measure anything, I just layer it all up until I get about a cubic yard of waste.
My biggest source for nitrogen is either the deep litter from the chicken coop, or cow manure from across the street. The farmers there are kind enough to allow me to grab a tractor bucket of manure from time to time.
Browns are easier to acquire. Leaves and woodchips pretty quickly provide enough brown material.
After layering all the ingredients, biology takes over and the pile heats up and breaks down.
Even though my chickens help scratch it, after a few weeks it needs to be turned to aerate the pile and reconnect the nitrogen and the carbon.
That’s all compost is: a big pile of waste.
Sometimes…that’s Life
We’ve all been there. You can’t be alive for more than a few minutes before you experience the feeling that NOTHING is going right.
Over the next few minutes, hours and years we learn to deal with the reality of life. The problems never go away, they just change shape.
And sometimes it gets bad.
Sometimes life feels like this epic pile of shit that just keeps getting layered on.
And then it RAINS
Just when you think you’ve had enough, it rains.
Now you have this life that feels like a pile of shit, you feel like you can’t take anymore, all you want is some sunshine…and it rains.
My case to you is that THIS is the critical moment to face that pile of shit – in the rain – and dig right into it until you get to the bottom. Do so knowing that ‘this too shall change.’ Change is one of the few constants in life.
The hardships you’re feeling are legitimate. Honor them. Face them. Don’t run from the hard life, grab a pitch fork and open it up.
Keep digging and look at what’s inside. Become aware and mindful of the FACT that it’s the things that knock us down that make us stronger. Know that while you are struggling to turn that big pile over it is slowly turning into a magic result that will feed the rest of your life.
How your life is defined
When you persevere, you will forever be changed.
That epic pile of shit that WAS what defined your life TEMPORARILY will now provide fertility to feed your life for ETERNITY. It is the lessons that we learn from our darkest moments that stick with us the longest.
Next time, it’ll be easier to see that pile of compost getting built. You’ll know what’s coming. You’ll know what to expect.
What I really hope is that you’ll learn to plan into the future so that those piles of shit are only built according to your specifications. By being mindful of the present life, and consciously working toward a future goal you gain some control over the path that your life follows.
My Biggest Pile
The biggest pile of compost that ever happened in my life was the discovery that I had volunteered myself to a position where I lacked all control over my life. This lack of control manifested itself as an involuntary recall to East Africa, wicked far from my wife and daughter, which is where I REALLY wanted to be.
I realized that I had fallen into this trap where we get convinced that we must live according to someone else’s rules and in support of someone else’s dreams and ambitions at the expense of pursuing our own aspirations. We do it because we’re told that someday it will totally be worth it. That pension. Those health benefits.
That pile took a long time to turn into magic. But it did. I learned a whole lot about myself. I gained a new understanding of what depression was and I made a commitment to myself that I would never put myself in that position again. Here forward: I own my life, and it’s my goal to help you take ownership of your life without having to find a new bottom to your glass. That’s why this site exists. That’s why I’m writing this and pushing it out to the world.
Turn that pile of compost in the rain. Take ownership of your life. Visualize what you want your life to be, and boldly get after it.
