#cornerkeeper

Part I - “Give Care Out There”

One of the rewards of being a corner shopkeeper and community connector has been being trusted with the responsibility of engaging nearby neighborhoods about the McKinley Community Urban Farm this season. With this has come new understanding about scarcity, abundance, and the very fine line of timing between the two.

At mid-summer, we were not as far from winter as usual since this last one was extra-long and snow-deeply drawn out. This delayed the appearance and readiness of edible vegetables. While we started selling “early bird” CSA subscriptions back in February, it seemed like eons before we could get to market with a sizable share of anything. And we heard this from members too who wondered with disappointment “Why are we not eating summer style yet?”. And this was just a couple of weeks ago.

It’s like this “inquiry” came from a mentality of scarcity, something familiar to us all, right? We want what we want when we want it, and sometimes we forget about natural rhythms and cycles and then make things seem urgent. We forget that we get what we need when we need it, but when we do remember, we cross the fine line of feeling things are scare and urgent and become aware that there is abundance in ourselves and all around.

The actual expression of this in the analogy above is that within one week’s time, things in the garden changed dramatically. Northside growers from Cleveland, Folwell, Hawthorne, Jordan, as well as McKinley experienced crop ripening at about the same time. Luckily, this network of cultivators had already agreed to work collaboratively to bundle and sell locally, and together we have done our best to prepare the marketplace – people and businesses – to use and incorporate northside-grown produce at their retail locations or on the dinner table. Still, we have more of some goods and greens than we can readily off load.

I am getting used to how life is and the pendulum swing between feeling like there’s too little and the overwhelm of having too much. Individually we each have enough even if it seems like our basic needs are not being met. 

The truth is that there is always just the right amount and that each and every one of us has enough. We just have to notice, cultivate, and pass our abundance along to others.

Kindness and gratitude are limitless and each of us can find a plentiful supply that we can pay forward. Our job is to recognize our assets and share the goodness we do have. We do not need to act out our fears, struggles, or stress at the expense of others. I recognize that I bounce between scarcity and abundance more than I would like, though I am reassured to know that this is human nature and that my feelings are shared by all.

Last week, I heard someone read Alice Walker’s poem “Going out to the garden” and I am reminded of the great honor there is accepting the responsibility of being a corner keeper, friend, and neighbor in McKinley. Through simple welcoming acts to people and tending to the nearby common space, I get to “give care out there” (an important distinction from “taking care”) and that is more than enough for me to feel nourished by others, help them and connect with them when opportunities arise, and to give away anything extra that I do have. Please join me when and if you can.

Thank you for your time.

Kelley