5 Life Lessons From an Australian Coffee Farm.
- Jan 22, 2017
- 5 min read
In 2012, I silently declared my first quarter life crisis. At that point in my life, I was completely broken. I hated where I was, what I was doing, and who I was spending time with. I couldn’t stand to be around myself. And, having recently graduated from University, the pressure of starting my life was absolutely overwhelming. So I did what any rational, well-adjusted person would; I quit my office job and bought a one way ticket across the world to the Land Down Unda’.
The next 6 months that I spent alone in Australia was a process of rebuilding myself, beginning with a little hard work volunteering on a Byron Bay coffee farm. In my weeks on the farm, I learned a whole lot about coffee and *cliche alert * found heaps of life's lessons reflected there too:
1. Technique trumps speed
This was my mantra while I picked ripe coffee cherries by hand in the Australian sun. It was tempting to grab a full bunch, rather than meticulously pick the bright red from the pink and green berries, but it was in my best interest to get as few unripened cherries as possible. Otherwise, I'd be ages sorting them out later on.
Beyond the literal application of this advice, it is good advice for travelers and really anyone living on planet earth. 'Technique' can be simply defined as the method in which you act, and for me and many people that I know, this ‘method’ tends to be rushing from one responsibility to the next, one sight to another, and one goal to the next. And yes, while this may be legitimized by calling it “drive” or “enthusiasm” you never get to fully experience one thing when your sights are set on the next thing before you've even reached the first.
Giving yourself time is one of the most enriching and loving things you can do for yourself. It’s amazing what you'll discover about yourself and this world when you're more focused on the technique than the speed. And you'll get a way better cup of coffee for it too.
2. When in doubt, take the scenic route
It is as lovely as it is true and this idea can be applied to make the best of many decisions. This advice, as quoted by the owner of the coffee farm, was expressed one mid afternoon when deciding which beach to check for surf. Should we go this way, or that?....We'll take the scenic route... and stop for fish and chips on the way, too.
Life is a route, better make it scenic. You're going to get to the same place that everyone else is headed, but literally taking the scenic route daily is going to get you there with a whole lot more wonderful experiences, a whole lot less stress, and much, much better stories.
3. Want to be happy? Submit to your passion
The most remarkable anti venom to any of this world's stinging obstacles is passion. The person submitting to their passion is unwavering in their ability to manifest the deepest and purest joy.
For the coffee farmer I worked with, surfing was his passion; he would chase it relentlessly; investigating 8 different surf cams, wind, and tide reports multiple times daily and planning his (and my) schedule around it. He wouldn't think twice about driving 40 Kilometers just for the chance of catching a satisfactory set saying, “a bad day on the surf beats a good day in the office every time.”
He completely structured his life around being able to do what makes him happy as often as possible, with little regard to the sacrifice or work that it meant for him. At a little shy of 50, the Farmer sold his home in Sydney, where he'd spent nearly all his life, and headed north looking for somewhere to live where he could be at the beach in 15 minutes. It just so happened that the place he found had a bunch of coffee bushes; so a coffee producer, roaster, and wholesaler he became. (He tells me that his next move is to sell this place off along with his car, getting a place that is biking distance to the beach, regardless of the sacrifice) He lets surfing drive him and he is a happy soul for it. He has submitted to his passion for surfing and lets it guide him where his soul feels whole, putting the other pieces together along the way.
4. Consistency is key
Hmm, something that I have troubles with... And while this is true for the carefully orchestrated roasting and blending of the harvested coffee beans, it is (unfortunately for me) also true of life in general.
Personally, I enjoy a lack of predictability, truly I thrive on it. But, stability is often synonymous with consistency and you can't argue that a little bit of that is good for the soul. Consistency is something that employers look for, something that lovers, friends, and family seek from you, and is really a skill that, like any other, can be practiced and achieved. While I think I'll always see consistency with a shade of boredom, I see the value of it reflected here yet again.
5. When you don't fit the mold, make your own
The Farmer had a girlfriend of countless years. But their relational dynamics were a little bit bizarre. They were autonomous in the most intense definition of the word. They slept in separate rooms, had separate animals, businesses, friends, interests, and conversations. They rarely touched, bickered like siblings, and ate different meals.
I didn't understand their relation to each other for a good week into living in their home. This was far different from any romantic relationship that I'd ever observed. Despite the exaggerated autonomy, they were not unkind or hostile toward each other, nor did they lack a relational passion - there was a clear underlying love and tenderness for one another.
Perhaps the most beautiful thing about their relationship was their concern for the other's fulfillment of their dreams. The Farmer constructed his life (although primarily in consideration of the surf) so that his girlfriend would be able to have a studio where she could live out her passions - pottery and yoga. She in turn gave the Farmer the freedom he needed to hit the beach at any hour of the day.
The way they do things works perfectly for them, no matter what their friends or history or any other influence pressures them to do differently. I'm proud of them for making their love work and I hope that I am able to maintain the autonomy and individual identity that they both so strongly possess while still having such a deep emotional investment in another person. The world and its expectations are not always right, be bold and redefine the mold.
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