I do several guest podcasts each week and most interviews are fairly standard.  The questions and of course my answers are almost routine.  But usually each one has at least one oddball question that catches me a bit off guard and requires some new soul searching to find an answer.

             One that I thought worth sharing came up last week:  "In light of the challenges you face from neighbors and the cultural orthodoxy that thinks you're stupid, how do you sustain enthusiasm?"  It's a profound question because most of us in some area of our life encounter resistance either to what we want to do, say, or think.  It especially comes to those who choose the road less traveled.

             After thinking about it for a bit, I came up with two threads that sustain my enthusiasm.  The first is to feed the mind and soul with good information.

             Where we choose to get our information has everything to do with how we view things.  This means I certainly don't spend any time getting information from conventional sources and the mainstream media.  I've met more and more people recently who have literally tuned out of orthodox news sources.

             As many of you know, I had a 2.5 year journalism career at our daily newspaper before returning to the farm full time Sept. 24, 1982.  My biggest takeaway from that stint involved news gatherers.  Almost without exception they hate business, love government, hate conservatives, despise personal liberty and trust bureaucrats more than average folks.

             Feeding your mind and soul from their verbiage discourages anyone who dares to march to the beat of a different drummer.  It's mind-numbing and question-stopping.  One of my greatest blessings is that I have a loyal and faithful cohort of people who feed me links to alternative information.  By the way, I just received a copy of Dr. Joe Mercola's new book THE TRUTH ABOUT COVID-19:  Exposing the Great Reset, Lockdowns, Vaccine Passports, and the New Normal--Why We Must Unite in a Global Movement for Health and Freedom.  Can't wait to get into it.  I guarantee it will be opposite everything CDC and Fauci say.  And it will feed my soul and encourage me to question the party line.

             The second answer is to find and fellowship with fellow pilgrims.  We must minimize our time spent with folks who laugh at us for thinking differently.  Sure, I interact with folks who think GMOs are fantastic, who think vaccination is a cure-all, and who love chemicals more than compost.  But I severely limit time with those kinds of folks.

             Otherwise you get frustrated, discouraged, angry.  None of us needs that.  Investing in corporate encouragement with our tribes has always been the foundation for affirmation and accelerated progress.  Associating with folks who say "it can't be done" or who ridicule the lunatic fringe stifles and stigmatizes innovators.  Permaculture guru Peter Bane says that the most important thing to preserve in times of epochal change is the freedom to think and practice differently.  Amen, brother.

 `            And those of us who dare to think differently need to immerse ourselves in social settings and gatherings with others who dare to question.  We only have a certain number of hours per day.  Allocating them to targeted encouragers is one of the best investments we can ever make.  None of us thrives when ridicule routinely assaults our passions.  If we're going to sustain our enthusiasm, we must put ourselves in the path of naysayers sparingly.

             What are you doing this summer to associate with folks who feed your soul?