Healthy living

Weighing in at 1000 pounds and over ten feet/3 meters in length, the top half of the Gull Stone Bench has finally been hoisted into position within the circled native grass sanctuary overlooking Roaring Beach. After ten years in the making, walkers of the Peace Path now have one more place to rest and enjoy the view. It’s a stunner.

Everyone has heard variations of the following, but it bears repeating:

Three people are all at the same construction site doing the same thing. When asked what they are doing the first person says, “Making $20 per hour”.

The second person says, “Framing up a wall.”.

The third person, however, says, “I’m building a cathedral.”

Having Bill and Pino around Windgrove for the past two weeks clearly demonstrates that their approach to work falls into the third category. Nothing is too difficult to do, or too demanding or too “un-vacation” like. The days spin with creative energy, resourceful work and playful banter. Their motivation stems from a philosophy that work of any sort can be worthwhile.

Jared Diamond writes in his book ‘Collapse’ about how the younger people are leaving the farms in Montana for a more easy, more prosperous life elsewhere because they view their grandparents has having had to work too hard with little to show for it. Diamond then writes:

“Montana farmers today who continue to farm into their old age do it in part because they love the lifestyle and take great pride in it. Jack Hirschy is still working on his ranch today at the age of 83, while his father Fred rode a horse on his 91st birthday.”

The clue that seems so obvious to me, but not to the younger people Diamond writes about, is that the farmers doing the hard, hazardous work are in their “80’s and older” and all the more happy for it. How many CEOs live this long?

Contentment and a long life do not always flow out of a cushioned life.

Let me add, however (before I scare off any future applicants to the artist-in-residence program), that along with the wonderfully hard work at Windgrove there are many options (and time) left open for play.