Planting Seeds and Setting Intentions
Well hello! And happy Tuesday to you too. I'm confident that you're starting the week off right if you're here making space to read words that make you smile. (I know, presumptuous of me to think you might smile...but I have to aim high!)
I had the chance to visit an extraordinary winemaker this past week. Her name is Arianna Occhipinti. (You might recognize her from Stanley Tucci's tour of Sicily.) Besides being young, driven, and delightfully refreshing in a world that can be quite arrogant, stubborn, and dominated by (yes, I'm going to say it) white, old men, she's also extremely dedicated to her land.
Visiting her farm and seeing her vines and vegetables, I understand that her approach to growing goes beyond any label that might claim organic or biodynamic cultivation (both of which she implements). I was lucky enough to enjoy a long dinner overlooking the vineyards and listen to some thoughtful discussions between three lively Italians all in the food world about the troubles with quantifying and certifying "sustainability."
Many winemakers come to her wanting to get that coveted organic certification, hoping it will elevate their product on the market and help drive sales. They come to see her as a model, or maybe just to spy in jealousy. She shared stories of neighboring winemakers who visit, stomp their feet through her fields, and marvel in disbelief that she doesn't use synthetic fertilizers or pesticides yet has immaculate vines with consistent yields (not to mention amazing wines.)
And that is the magic word, disbelief.
I walked away ruminating on how important belief is: our choice and our intention backed up by inner knowing. Arianna has over 15 years of experience in winemaking at this point, having started making her own wines at 22. Of course she set out to make amazing wine. But her intention went beyond the wine to her relationship with the land: she wanted to produce the best wine with the most respect for her land. Her wines are a result of her intention and attention, not the other way around.
"It starts with your choice," she said.
We all make choices on how we want to enter into a relationship, on what we want to produce. Whether it's a relationship with the land to produce wine, or a relationship with words to produce writing, or with another person to produce a family, we start by choosing.
When we move forward with intention, belief, and care, planting small seeds, and spending the time to watch them grow, we have a much more intimate awareness of the process and the many needs that come up. We are involved and invested in the growth of the relationship, in the resiliency of the product. It doesn't mean there won't be mistakes or challenges, but when we commit to our intention, each moment is part of the process. We are present and aware in the journey towards a destination. When we believe in our process, when we believe in the relationship, there is no alternative to a perfect product, because its perfection comes out of having been grown with our care, not having met someone else's criteria.
This is what I walked away from that evening. The discussion around sustainable certifications like organic and biodynamic is a tough one. The moment we create a checklist that "proves" sustainability, the moment we try to quantify "care" with numbers, metrics, and categories, we open ourselves up to losing sight of the process and focusing solely on ticking the boxes to reach a destination, to get a label or certification. We stop approaching our journey as a relationship that needs attention, that is truly organic in that it's always changing, and we create a boundary between ourselves and our "goal," in a way removing ourselves from the process.
I believe it starts with us. It starts with each of us deciding how we want to show up for ourselves, for others, for our world. It starts with a decision, an intention, and then the planting and nourishing of a seed. If we move with intention, if we move with care, if our goal is the process...imagine the perfection.
Wishing you a beautiful week ahead!
Sending you plenty of smiles and sunshine, and hoping to hear from you soon!
Henna
PS: I may have one spot available in Belonging so if you're interested, we start next week on the 22nd. Get in touch!