Fresh Start, Open Heart

"The first part of this work was co-sensing: immersing ourselves together in the complexity of our current and emerging reality. This required us to venture beyond the comfortable boundaries of our everyday world-- our habitual places and relationships and thoughts-- to see afresh what was happening and was possible." (105)

This was the same with the majority of us at the beginning of this school year with this class. Many of us never harvested before, gleaned, or even ate an organic tomato before. Our class comes from unique backgrounds to begin with. Some richer, some poorer. Some fully enriched cultured, some culture-deprived. Whether we knew it at the time or not, this class gave us all an open opportunity for a fresh start at bettering both ourselves and others. We learned what separates real, healthy food from "healthy" food. We also learned the true meanings of power and love and how it is indeed important to keep the very difficult but long desired balance between the two. Some people admitted times of high weakness with letting their own love be overruled by power. In other cases, others admitted to times when they or someone of significant to them have allowed the power get to their head and forgot to love. We showed ourselves, raw and bare, and instead of being ridiculed or objectified, we were applauded for our bravery for such reveals and candid words. We agreed as a whole before this class, hardly ay of us even knew what "gleaning" meant. To some people it might have given license to mock for we sounded ignorant, but it only meant we wanted to explore more and better our minds.

Additionally, when David came to visit our class, I chose to reveal I have gone to food banks for my own need of food. Others admitted to never needing a food bank in comparison. It showed a new side of me, as well possibly opened others' eyes on such an issue. Needing to go to a food bank for food is not just a special segment for "Oprah". It is some people's real life, including my own. I do not typically reveal this fact about me, but this time, it felt needed to be said.

This class at first was just chosen because I needed a colloquium and it fit my schedule preferences the best. It ended up being one of the decisions I made in life that possibly helped me out more than I could ever fully realize. It has expanded my own horizons and pushed me from my own comfort, and I am pretty sure that I am not alone. It is never too late for a fresh start as long as you keep an open, kind heart.