 A piece of old horse-drawn equipment by the horse barn. Dear friends,
The situation with Trump is reminiscent of the election of Nixon, who was an obvious crook to so many of us, and Reagan, the beginning of the right-wing wave.
Although I think Trump and the situation in the country is even worse now, my takeaway, especially after Nixon, was that we cannot expect change through politics.
We find peace through our own spiritual path, and when we find other people who share a commitment to a spiritual path, we have the strength to survive and prosper.
This is how The Farm came into being and we will be here long after Trump is gone. And we will wait for the pendulum to return.
More to consider...
 "To see the universal and all-pervasive Spirit of Truth face to face, one must be able to love the meanest of creation as oneself. And a man who aspires after that cannot afford to keep out of any field of life. That is why my devotion to Truth has drawn me into the field of politics; and I can say without the slightest hesitation, and yet in all humility, that those who say that religion has nothing to do with politics do not know what religion means."
Gandhi, as printed in Stephen Gaskin's This Seasons People
Peace in our hearts,
Douglas A Return to Guatemala
When Deborah and I were in Guatemala with Plenty International in 1978, our kids were 2 and 4 years old, 4 and 6 when we returned to Tennessee in 1980. By 1990, the turmoil in Guatemala had subsided enough that we took them back as teenagers so that they would remember this very special time in their childhood. Both have since returned on their own and this past summer, our son Jody traveled to Guatemala with his wife and 14-year-old daughter to give them a taste of this land of our heart.
 Jody looking at the same view into the village from the home rented in 1978 by Plenty International volunteers. One thing we have learned from our service in other countries is that there are often unexpected changes in response to the help you provide. As part of our work there, we installed a village water system, providing clean drinking water to every home in San Bartolo. This made it a highly desirable place to live, and when we returned 40 years later, we found the population, along with the number of houses and small businesses had grown considerably.
 Forever friends. left to right: our daughter Leah, Emily Cook, Jody, and Christopher Cook  Agustin was a village leader who took us under his wing and became our partner in the construction of the soy dairy, in operation now for over 40 years. Sharing pictures from his photo album.  In addition to soy milk, soy ice cream, and tofu, the soy dairy (now called ADIBE) uses the whey from making tofu to produce a soy-based shampoo.  The production crew at ADIBE.  While we were in Guatemala, our son attended first grade in a one-room building with no electricity or running water. Plenty built a new modern school on land adjacent to the soy production facility.  School kids line up for Ice Bean at the soy dairy in Solola, Guatemala - photo by Jody Stevenson  As this newsletter goes out, representatives of Plenty's Board of Directors are in Guatemala visiting ADIBE and other projects,
Peace,
Douglas A New Home Next Door
I want to share with you some pictures of a new home being built by a member of The Farm on land just outside our community. The framework is purchased as a kit and assembled on-site, and then the homeowner/builder chooses how they want to cover the outside and design the interior. Pretty cool!
 Before and after siding      Touch the edges of mystery! Dances of Universal Peace
 Experiences such as our Dance Weekend in November are exactly the type of medicine we need to help us through these trying times. In the words of one person who attended, "What a blessed and beautiful…AND powerful experience of peace and love in action, radiating out to all beings everywhere!! May it be so! And so it IS!"
 SAVE THE DATES for our 2025 second annual region-wide retreat at The Farm! July 31 - August 3, 2025! This one will be guided by our DUPNA Next Generation Council! Thank you for your time and attention!
 My books:
Out to Change the World and The Farm Then and Now
Out to Change the World! $12 plus shipping
The Farm Then and Now $19.95 plus shipping
Watch my TEDx Talk: Out to Change the World - Living the Hippie Dream
A big thanks to everyone who has become a patron of Farm Fresh! When you become a subscriber, your contribution helps spread the word about community-based alternatives and the spiritual path.
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Douglas Stevenson
Douglas@villagemedia.com www.douglasstevenson.com Village Media www.villagemedia.com |
