OFI 171: What Are We Doing This For? | Finding Meaning Behind A Life In Agriculture

OFI 171: What Are We Doing This For? | Finding Meaning Behind A Life In AgricultureScreen Shot 2016-08-04 at 5.25.42 PM

SHOW NOTES

A DIFFERENT EPISODE THIS WEEK: 

As so many of you already know from listening to the show, I grew up in a small town in the San Joaquin Valley of California called Valley Home.  It was a pretty special place, and I could not have asked for a better way to grow up.

Pictured above is one the first friends I ever had in Valley Home, Ryan Russell.  He was one year older than me, and he did what all of us involved in the Off-Farm Income Community are trying to do – he followed his dreams and passion.  Ryan was passionate about music, but he did not learn to play the guitar until he was 23 years old.  From that point forward it was all music for him. Ryan built his life around music.

All through our childhood Ryan had asthma, but it never stopped him.  He played sports, hunted, camped and did everything the rest of us did.  He continued to deal with asthma until last weekend when a severe attack resulted in his unexpected and untimely death.  This has been a shock to me, the entire Valley Home Community and the network of people he has touched with his music.

Once the initial shock of this loss faded a little, I looked for the lesson that was surely there to be learned.  Like everyone else who has reached their 40’s and lost somebody suddenly, I had the same epiphany: life is short and can be taken away at any moment.  This realization made me very happy with my decisions to pursue what I am passionate about and change my career three years ago.  It also inspired the title of this episode, “What Are We Doing This For?”

If you are not pursuing agriculture because you are passionate about the lifestyle then you should think about that.  However, I suspect that you, as a member of this audience, know exactly what you are doing and why you are pursuing this life.

If you are still stuck in the cubicle and just dreaming – get busy!  You are only losing time as days go by.

Here is the video that I promised on the show of us all roller skating on Christmas Day, 1979.  Ryan is wearing the vest and trucker cap.  The video starts on him just after he had crashed.  I am wearing the football jersey with the number 22 on it.

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