The power of gratitude

Sometime in the late eighties, I learned pesticide use in California vineyards and decided to enact my own re-dux of the great grape boycott of the 60s.  And so, for the greater part of a decade, I did all I could to avoid eating grapes. Raisin bran? No, thanks. Grapes with your free cheese & fruit snacks at a college event?  Skipped ‘em.  But when a friend asked me during my first year of theology school who else I’d told about my personal boycott, and I had to say, “um, nobody.”  And so I realized that no matter how good it was for my own integrity to choose the earth and farmworkers over my preferences, the power of my choice was diluted by my silence.

This year with the LPF Compact has been a refreshing reversal of that experience.  Our work for a better food system has allowed me to feel good about the integrity of my choices personally and with this little group of friends.  Even more, telling other people about it has brought ripples of connection – and ultimately, I hope, a bit of power behind each of these choices.

This month’s exercise of sending thank-you notes to five leaders in our local food systems was one of those ripples.  I sent all of mine by email, so I could hyperlink our blog and spread the word of what we’re doing through the power of a blue underlined phrase.  The responses I received (from three out of five of my designees) ranged from enthusiasm, exclamation points and returned thanks, to several lines of thoughtful reflection including the word “robust” – a favorite of mine this year.

I’ll paste some of my emails in below, for your reading pleasure.  But before I do, one quick request: Help our ripples go even further.  Think of someone who needs a thank-you note because they grew you something yummy, made you think about food in a new way, or work hard every day to provide variety to our tables and health to our earth and bodies.  Send ‘em a note, and enrich your own choices with the power that comes with integrity, words and gratitude.

To Shalom Farms

Dear Dominic,

Two emails in one short weekend!  I'm writing now as part of a little group of people across the US who are working together to promote better food systems by committing to one action or learning about one thing, each month for a year.  We call ourselves the LPF Compact because we also are part of the Laziness Philanthropy Fund, in which we donate a dollar for every to-do we don't get done during our workdays, and send it all to a different social justice organization each month.

This month, we're taking some time out to say thank you to those who are hard at work every day, making our food system stronger and healthier.  You and Shalom Farms are on my list of folks to thank, for these reasons:

- Our students got to experience a way to work for food justice, up close and personal with the dirt & the veggies because of you.
- You bring people together as volunteers, and in the process, they build community.
- You connect ideas of faith and justice to the one of the most important things we all do every day (if we're lucky enough): eating.

So, thank you!  Thanks for being part of the movement and for filling the dinner tables of so many with good things.

Peace,
Melody

PS You can read more about our little group in the blog I hyperlinked above, with the caveat that we're still working on adding our book reports, examples of thank-you's we've written, and more food tracking blog posts.  All a process!

To Victory Farms, currently being renamed as Origins Farm

Dear Alistar & Rebecca -

I'm part of a little group of people across the US who are working together to promote better food systems by committing to one action or learning about one thing, each month for a year.  We call ourselves the LPF Compact because we also are part of the Laziness Philanthropy Fund, in which we donate a dollar for every to-do we don't get done during our workdays, and send it all to a different social justice organization each month.

This month, we're taking some time out to say thank you to those who are hard at work every day, making our food system stronger and healthier.  You're on my list of folks to thank, for these reasons:

- You grow almost every vegetable I eat.  And they're yummy!
- You've committed to a way of growing that is nurturing to the earth and nourishing to those who enjoy the food.
- You've promoted a connection between eaters, yourselves and the earth that is stronger than most Americans get to experience even for a short time in their lives.

So, thank you!  Thanks for being part of the movement and for making my dinner table abundant with goodness.

Peace,
Melody