I consider myself fortunate. Spending vacations on a farm at the countryside were one of my greatest blessings. I remember my father taking us to visit our native place in Diwali festival which is also a harvest festival in the countryside. These trips use to end with lots of haunting memories in my mind.

Feeling of freshness in the air, Classic smell of the fresh harvest & soil, cows mooing & dogs playing, the sight of the harvest activities with a scenic landscape, Harvest Celebration & fun fairs makes you feel on top of the world. Such an environment and feeling one will never get to see in any metropolitan cities. The memory of being part of that place makes me nostalgic

As I look back on the vacations spent during harvest season on the farm, I realize now that I learned valuable lessons from observing life on a farm. These lessons go beyond an appreciation for where our food comes from & love for animals. I learned the importance of hard work & teamwork, generosity & value for money, patience & self-sufficiency and much more proving the saying by Masanobu Fukuoka — “The ultimate goal of farming is not growing the crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings.”

Some of these valuable moral lessons for life I would love to share with you are as follow:

Work Hard and be Responsible

Farming is a profession of hope, with that hope originates the knowledge that it won’t turn into anything without working tirelessly to make it happen, making hard work and dedication a natural part of being a farmer. Everyone rises early in the morning and works from dawn to dusk & sometimes all through the night to complete their responsibilities. Everyone works happily and I never heard anyone complaining. All this reminds me of an old saying that, “it is better to wear out than to rust out”. Even every task assigned whether big or small is given best and not left undone. Farming is not about planting and then forgetting that we ever did, it requires our 100%. When we plant a seed, we commit ourselves to living things that require care & attention. This taught me the importance of hard work, responsibility & value of commitment.

Teamwork is Important

Many of us find it difficult to take care of our garden, imagine increasing that by ten thousand times with a bunch of living & breathing animals. That’s what it’s like to manage a farm & harvesting looks impossible to do alone. During harvesting season everyone relies on each other to make sure the whole harvesting is done in time. It is the ultimate teamwork, where the labour, as well as the reward, is shared. All this teamwork creates the feeling we’re all in this together & help celebrate the commonality in us.

Have Faith and Be Patient

If there is one great lesson I have learned from harvest festival is ‘have faith & be patient.” In a world of instant pleasure, patience is a virtue & who is better to impart the lesson of patience than farmers? They wait times to see if their harvest will turn out. Most crops are planted in the early monsoon, and you don’t get to harvest until winter comes. There are many situations that are out of hands. Different seasons bring different results. In farming, a heavymonsoon or drought can wipe out the possibility of a good crop and some seasons will bring nothing but disappointment. A farmer knows that the best products take time to cultivate. My grandpa use to tell us, “There is always next year. If we keep going and walk by faith, our hard work will help us to sail through dark nights and lead us to brighter days ahead.” The Harvest season taught me patience. Patience to accept what was, what is and what will be. And if I ever fail, it also taught me to begin and have faith be prepared for a new season in our life all over again.

Be Generous & Pass it Forward

Generosity is an act of spontaneously sharing what we have, be it time, help or money. As I experienced closely our farming community, I remember all villagers being very spontaneous & generous to all folks who visited. During harvest season farmers give a share of the harvest to relatives & friends. In times of need, they help their neighbours. Many of the farmers are poor, but they are also the ones who are the most generous. It is heart-warming to see that they find joy in giving & that encourages me to live a little bit below my resources so I could give a bit more to others.

Farming community will be the first to tell you, How to live a life and to be proud of? Life as a farmer is not easy but for sure simple & sweet. It’s a way of living with people who are important and close to us. That’s after all the true meaning of life

What’s your favourite life lesson you’ve learned from the farm or Farmers? Leave a comment with your life lesson!