Tag: agriculture

We’re Called to Be a Blessing

CarolynCares Called to be a Blessing

I receive a text every morning from my DailyBible app. Since I am not a morning person, and prefer to ease into my day, I lie in bed and read the notifications on my phone before rising. Sometimes the verses that are sent are not really uplifting at the time, but yesterdays really stuck with me. These verses in 1 Peter are still very applicable today…or maybe even more so with some of the things I’ve been reading online lately.

I hope you ponder these verses before you post an angry reply, or zing someone that thinks differently than you do. Instead, think of how you can be a blessing to that person. ‘…repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called…’

 

Thankful Thursday – The Power Pole People

CarolynCares Thank You Brave Ones

I don’t know about you, but heights scare me to the point of buckled knees and shortness of breath. At the same time, I have a fascination with people who seem to be so at ease with heights.

The guys in the photo work for a company that is removing all of the high-line wires and poles from the road in front of our house. The new CapX2020 line will eventually replace these double wooden poles, which really won’t affect us much at all. Watching the process of wire and pole removal was super interesting. I tried not to gawk too much as they worked in front of our place.

One day, when the poles were being removed a few miles north of us, I had to run up to the Cities. I left later than I wanted to, and was feeling a bit grumpy. Things just seemed to be going wrong all morning. I had to wait for the flag man to wave me by the first set of trucks, which was expected. The second truck a mile down the road didn’t have an official flag man. Instead, two of the workers who were putting gear in the back of the truck started waving cars by, dancing, waving, and smiling broadly. They totally brightened my day. It’s hard to be grumpy when you encounter two gruff looking guys break into dance!

When the time came for the old power poles to come down in front of our place, I just had to go out and watch the process. The one guy had a chainsaw, and was cutting the support brackets. The other was there to maneuver the bucket and assist with the cutting. The main cross piece was lowered by a chain attached to the claw on the second truck. After all of the support braces and main cross piece were removed, the two white trucks were moved, and the large backhoe worked the poles out of the ground. The whole crew working on these poles had great communication, and treated each other in a friendly manner. To me, it was a great lesson. No matter what your occupation, your attitude can make your job seem less like work.

Thank you, Power Pole People, for braving heights and dangerous conditions every day…and for the occasional dance break.

“People Are Just as Wonderful as Sunsets….”

CarolynCares Sunsets and People

This quote by Carl R Rogers was so fitting today. Sometimes we encounter people who drive us crazy. When we see these people in person, we just want to hurry the conversation along so we can escape and go chat with our friends. Then again, there are those conversation on social media, where you swear someone will argue with you over the color of the sky, simply because they have it in their minds that you’ll never have anything in common.

I love the opening line – “People are just as wonderful as sunsets if you let them be.” If you let them be…wonderful. If you let them be…human. If you let them be…imperfect. They are still just as wonderful as sunsets. Just because I think a woman is going to be crabby and whining after church doesn’t mean I shouldn’t take the time to really listen to what she’s saying, and what she’s not saying. Is she crabby about someone not talking to her ever because her memory is going, and she cannot remember the last conversation? Or, is it her way of saying she’s lonely?

When we’re typing rants, comments, statuses, or sharing other posts online, do we let our biases about certain people or groups of people dictate how we respond to them? For instance, if the conversation is centered around whether PB&J is better with grape jelly or strawberry jam, are the grape jelly fans going to treat the strawberry jam lovers as if they are just as wonderful as sunsets?

People are just as wonderful as sunsets. Just as every sunset is different, people are different. Don’t try so hard to change everyone to fit what you think they should be. Just sit back, and enjoy watching your relationships unfold. After all, social media is about relationships just as life is about relationships.

 

Thankful Thursday – The Local Coffee Shop

CarolynCares ThankYou Coffeeshop

Rural areas like ours in Southwest Minnesota can seem like Mars to some coffee loving city dwellers when they learn we are two hours from the nearest Starbucks. They wonder how we can handle living so far from that type of atmosphere. It’s pretty easy for those of us in my area. We have two great locally owned coffee shop options.

My favorite place to grab a mocha latte (my favorite beverage), or have lunch with friends, is a little place called Bagels & Brew. This cute little place is attached to a laundromat in an unassuming building along the main drag in Marshall. After 15 years in business, they have built up a loyal following. They serve bagels, but also have a nice selection of sandwiches and paninis, along with side salads. If you are just looking for beverages, they have a full line up of coffee options, tea, smoothies, and in the fall, a delicious caramel apple cider.

What makes Bagels & Brew my favorite coffee shop…besides my love for the coffee? The people. I have stopped for coffee or lunch many times over the years, and I have never seen any of the employees grumpy. It doesn’t matter if you are going through the drive-thru, or eating in, the staff is always friendly. I have witnessed Todd, the owner, run out to vehicles in line, taking orders so they wouldn’t have to wait so long in the drive-thru. When customer service is taken seriously, and delivered with a smile, it makes me want to support them.

Living out in a rural area isn’t so bad when you have great local places that fill your needs. When the service is delivered with a smile, it makes it all the sweeter. Thank you, Todd and staff at Bagels & Brew in Marshall for your smiles, the friendly atmosphere, your delicious sandwiches & salads, and your wonderful mocha lattes!

 

 

Thankful Thursdays – A New Series of Gratitude

CarolynCares Thankful Thursday Lessons in Gratitude

I’ve always felt a little funny about the phrase, “Thank a Farmer”.  I guess I just have a difficult time asking people to thank me for a job that I love doing. I mean, why would I ask people to thank me, when my parts guy isn’t asking me to thank him for keeping the equipment running? Recently, Jenny, from Prairie Californian tweeted about thanking the people that make our lives easier. That conversation got me to thinking about starting a new Thankful Thursday series, where I can highlight some of the people that I come into contact with on a regular basis, and thank them for their work.

I’ve been working on gratitude and thankfulness in my own life lately. I’m a words of affirmation girl, and I understand how a kind word can make your whole day better. I also understand how an unkind word or unsavory expression can ruin what was a good day. I would love to see the world become a more positive place, where people are kind to one another, and where Please and Thank You are not just words to a Barney song.

My hope is that this journey will help us to have more of an attitude of gratitude when we are at the grocery store, the local coffee shop, the gas station, the parts store…wherever there are people helping us out. It is so easy to get crabby with the waitress when she’s a little slow, or get mad at the parts guys for not having the correct hydraulic tips. It would be cool if instead of getting upset, we could be thankful that these people are here to help us, and are willing to work at that establishment.

If you would like to join me in my Thankful Thursday series, put a link to your blog in the comments. I’ll add your link at the end of my posts.

You cannot be grateful and bitter.
You cannot be grateful and unhappy.
You cannot be grateful and without hope.
You cannot be grateful and unloving.
So just be grateful.

Author Unknown

 

How to Create a Positive Conversation in Agriculture

CarolynCares Love Hope Optimism

Have you noticed a change in people’s attitudes on Social Media this winter? At first, I blamed it on the Polar Vortex. However, it hasn’t improved at all with the snow melt! The negative blog posts, personal attacks, and unnecessary use of inflammatory adjectives have really gotten me down. I’ve had troubles writing lately, because I feel like whatever positive I had to say about my farm, or agriculture in general, would be drowned out by all the negative posts and editorials written about what I do.

While looking at photos and quotes for my Wordless Wednesday posts, I noticed I gravitated towards certain themes. Positive Attitude. Kindness. Respect. The more I focused on the quotes relating to those themes, the better I felt. So, how can we create a positive conversation in agriculture amidst all the negativity?

1. Have a Positive Attitude. Let’s be real. Sometimes you have to fake it ‘til you make it on those days when it seems like everyone is trying to get under your skin. It’s okay to walk away before responding. A positively worded response can preserve most relationships, or help others to understand where you are coming from. The conversations you have today will influence how others see you tomorrow. “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Proverbs 15:1

2. Show a little Kindness. I think we sometimes get so wrapped up in “me” that we lose sight of what goes on outside of our little world. People love to make fun of labels on packages if they think those labels are unnecessary. Those labels were not meant for you…they were meant for those whose lives may be affected by the ingredients in that product. Gluten Free items are not only for those who suffer from Celiac Disease, but are also important for those with a wheat allergy. There are many people who are diagnosed with an illness, and are told by their doctor they need to avoid certain ingredients. They may not have a computer at home to check lists of approved foods, so the labels become very important to them. Just because it is not your label, does not mean it isn’t someone else’s. “In life you can never be too kind or too fair; everyone you meet is carrying a heavy load. When you go through your day expressing kindness and courtesy to all you meet, you leave behind a feeling of warmth and good cheer, and you help alleviate the burdens everyone is struggling with.” -Brian Tracy

3. Respect is more than the title to an Aretha Franklin song. Agriculture is so individual that there is a lot of room for disagreement. The most difficult thing to remember is that what works for me on my farm, and with my management style is not going to work for you. To respect the differences in styles, methods, crops, livestock raised, we must refrain from using the inflammatory adjectives that are only meant to hurt. Calling someone anti-science, a cult, or a mafia is no better than calling someone a shill, a factory farm, or toxic. Name calling is a sure way to destroy any credibility you may have had with consumers. We want to be the trusted source, yet we are constantly attacking each other because we are different. Instead, I think we need to embrace the diversity, and respect ourselves. “To be one, to be united is a great thing. But to respect the right to be different is maybe even greater.” –Bono

Some may say it is wishful thinking to try and have a positive conversation in agriculture. I am confident it can be done. The change in attitude needs to start now. Are you with me?

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi