So I have been thinking about biodynamics…
Nothing new there really. I teach about biodynamics, I work in certification for biodynamic organisations, my husband has been a biodynamic farmer and we live on the edge of a biodynamic farm. You get the picture…
How does biodynamics work in the garden? How might you convert a farm or garden (or farmer) to biodynamics? What does it mean anyway?
Is it a philosophy? A way of life? A set of methods? A recipe book?
I suppose it could be any of those, depending on the person and place involved, and perhaps that is the key difference – IT DEPENDS on the person and place involved. (though I have to admit that I don’t really like the last one…)
In this world of binary (black or white, right or wrong, 0 or 1), biodynamics values diversity and complexity. How easy is that? In reality probably not very. Complexity is, well complex, which by definition means it is not simple, to discuss or convey. But complexity also means depth and richness, like an oil painting, a landscape, a human being, or a farm. In detail farms are messy and muddy, just like most humans. Especially at this time of year we are surrounded by mud and mess, but we are also surrounded by species – birds, insects, plants, people and animals, microorganisms and minerals. Not simple, not neat and definitely not binary.
Perhaps in my view, this is actually the first step towards biodynamics, to accept that life is messy – but also that we can see beyond the mess to value diversity, complexity, relationships and species richness. Somehow in the mess there can be the aim for balance and harmony (aim for are really key words). Human beings have the capacity to understand that complexity is good and to actively cultivate it.
Cultivation is not control, working with is not imposing, and complexity is challenging.
Biodynamics is not easy, it is not simple, it is messy, but it can also be real. Not a sound bite, not an advertisement to convince or sell, but an attempt to understand and work with nature, to make nature (which is always complex) even more natural. Life is not a spreadsheet, but something to be lived.
Perhaps this is step one. Accept the mess and learn to love it…
Stay tuned for step two…
