So long as mists envelop you, be still; be still until the sunlight pours through and dispels the mists — as it surely will. Then act with courage.
— Chief White Eagle
It’s easy to become discouraged. Whether with your garden, your livestock, your new project … anything. It’s even easier to feel like you never do anything right when you’re remembering the things that went wrong. Often, it feels as if everything has to go wrong before it can go right. This makes it hard to want to keep at it, to be better, to move forward with grit, and to give yourself and those around you grace.
That’s what we’re bringing you in this issue of Grit: embracing the imperfect, “misty” bits of life and waiting for the sun. Let Daniel Viamonte tell you how what was supposed to be a greenhouse-warming solution turned into the largest independent rabbit venture in Oregon. You can’t always rely on yourself, so when things start getting misty, take Nathaniel Munro’s advice: Lean on your community. Been trying to grow that perfect garden for years but can’t quite put your finger on what’s going wrong? Kristina Seleshanko is here with her tips on doing it better this time. Finally, as gardeners, we know that it can’t always be sunny, and mist and rain bring their own immense benefits. Funnel some of life’s rain (figuratively and literally) into something that’ll work for you and your poultry – an automatic waterer.
Everyone, and I do mean everyone, has those moments of doubt, discouragement, and outright failure. And that’s okay; we don’t learn and become better if we don’t have them. It won’t take long struggling through those mists (though it may certainly feel like three months is three years) until the sun breaks through and burns it away; when everything is again going well and maybe even better than before.
As my fortune cookie advised me not that long ago, aim for success, not perfection.
May your path be sunny,
Karmin
