This
fence is made with cedar poles rather than cedar rails. It would have been faster to build than a
rail fence, but the number of trees needed would have been roughly four times
what a rail fence needs. What do you
think influenced the farmer to build a pole fence rather than a split-rail
fence? My bet is an abundance of cedar
trees - trees that had to be cleared for crops and pasture anyway - they might
as well be used in the fence.
This
picture reminded me of the struggle that I have with the concept of abundance;
I suspect that many people have the same struggle. My normal, unthinking perspective on abundance
is...well, unthinking. At any time of
the day or night, I can convince myself that I must have something, and have it
right now! But, every now and again,
something happens to remind me that I seldom lack for anything I actually need. If that's not abundance, what is?
Some
will equate abundance with money - but, philosophers and daily experience tell
us that money is not a good indicator of abundance; there are many people with lots
of money who are miserably unhappy. And,
if our life was filled with abundance, how could we possibly be unhappy? My sense of abundance is filled with things
that I take for granted: eyesight,
hearing, mobility, health in general, friends, the beloved - imagine being
without these - that would be a poor life.
But,
getting back to this farmer - how did was he likely to view abundance? The cedar trees were a mixed blessing: an
obstacle to growing the crops he needed, but a ready source of fencing material
to mark the boundaries of his land and to keep livestock in their place. The abundance that I experience is a mixed
blessing too. Most of the time it
overwhelms my ability to see beyond it...it buries me and isolates me from what
is important. But every so often, when
my heart and mind are in a good place, the abundance of my life comes to its
purpose, to be shared with others.
That's when it truly feels like I can't get enough.
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