Posted on Leave a comment

Growing Gratitude Beyond Market Economy: How to thank Fruition & keep the gift moving

banner Organic apple 4

Giving thanks for abundance is sweeter than the abundance itself. 

~ Rumi

banner bee flowers

How do we learn to give and receive differently, Friends?

And as we all learn how to give and receive seeds rather than sell them, let us affirm: As you receive these seeds, all we ask is that you receive them trusting that you are worthy, no matter what you’ve done or haven’t done, no matter what you’ll do or won’t do. 

Trust that by simply receiving these seeds, you are amplifying the gift of life, their 400 million year old legacy.

Trusting Our Gifts, The Gift Returns 

with seven haikus

Thank you, Nani Nehring-Bliss, for this exquisite continuous line drawing, gorgeously expressing the non-linear and interconnected nature of gifts, community and Fruition’s joyful, trusting commitment to gifts unfolding, surrounding us all with what we need:

unnamed

On Needing & Thanking Each Other

Do you understand that your quality of life and your survival are tied to how authentic and generous the connections are between you and the people and place you live with and in? 

adrienne maree brown, Emergent Strategy

banner Organic apple 2

Friends, we need each other.

And, more than ever:

We need YOU!

As we step into sharing rather than selling seeds, learning to uncouple our needs with our ‘perceived market value,’ we are committed to sharing our needs in clear, honest, creative and widely accessible ways.

And Friends, we need you to both receive seeds as well as support our continued seed sharing in any way(s) feel generative and joyful for you, if and only as you are called.

800 x 400 plum

We will do everything we can to be in service of seeds and sharing. We know we cannot do this alone and we’re honored to share concrete ways you can make this possible, both directly and indirectly, immediately and across time. What do we need?

We Need Relationship

Above all, as we step away from the familiar, fragile facade of market economy’s ‘stability,’ we step into the gift of trusting, reciprocal relationship. 

The quality of our relationships is the quality of our lives.

Without question, the most meaningful way you can show up in our lives, Friends, is being in relationship — in community! — with us. Being humxn together, in person, both here on the farm as well as when we travel to your neighborhood, are already gift and will only continue to be. There are many ways to be embodied here on the farm with us:

800 x 400 garlic farm 1

~ Join our public harvest sharing events throughout the seasons!

~ Attend one or many of our monthly community orchard & garden gatherings. And briefly:

Did you know we’ve planted 100+ fruit and nut trees on the farm?

We have no interest in selling any of this abundance: 

There is a deeper hunger we would nourish together.

We are hungry to share the experience of tending these trees 

and this land in community, laughing & learning together as we go, 

sharing the joys and trials of the seasons, 

so when we harvest and share the fruit, it’s that much sweeter.

Join us!

~ Moving forward, we’re so excited to share expansive and specific volunteer opportunities from seed starting in spring to filling seed packets to offering a workshop or experience here on the farm for our wide community. All those transplants you bring home each spring? We’ll fill that tunnel again, entirely gifts for us all, from seeds sown and tended together as a community. For us, by us, for us all. If you’d love to learn more about these opportunities, let us know over here.

800 x 400 organic apple triumph 4

We Have Material Needs…

We also anticipate having needs in the form of material goods (mason jars, lumber, printer ink & beyond) that will nourish our individual and collective care. You’ll find our current iteration of those material needs toward the bottom of All Flourishing is Mutual: A Lil Survey for Growing Together. If you would love to gift us something not on the list, just ask! We love that you’re thinking creatively and are open to the exploration.

…And Financial Needs, Too

As we step into gift culture, endeavoring to separate our financial needs from our ‘perceived market value,’ we’ll share our budget, sharing both what we financially need to continue our work as well as what we’ve received to date. Here’s our projected 2025 Budget:

Fruitions 25 Projected Budget Pie Chart Graph 1

If you’d love to make a financial contribution, thank you so!

If you’d love to explore more nuanced possibilities, share more here and you’ll hear from us soon.

Fruition’s Collaborative Needs & Dreams:

We would love to welcome a diversity of voices to the farm and we look forward to welcoming yours! Would you love to offer a workshop or other healing, skills building or delicious experience here on the farm? From social justice to sushi, seed saving to tomato preservation, let’s explore the possibilities together! We’d love for you to share your love with our wide community we love, share more here and don’t be shy.

Above all, trust us to know what we need, to make specific asks and also that we’re learning to receive as well as give. Trust that we will lean into the growing edges of honing these skills together, growing our comfort with discomfort. 

Thank you for helping us practice new ways of exploring and trusting abundance shared.

800 x 400 apricot peach strawflower
Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *