March is Mud Season
As the snow begins to melt, we are left with a mud pit at the farm. Mud in the pens and mud in the circle driveway. You can try to walk over a rut left by a car tire, and end up trapped with mud up to your shin. Out in parts of the cow pasture, the mud is so deep that it will remove your entire boot if you try to move too quickly. The farmhouse is covered in dark brown tracks at the end of each spring day.
I love mud season! There is a sense of renewal and starting again. Before everything starts to green there is a time of effort and mess. What better way to understand the difficulty of living with a mental health issue than trudging through the mud while pushing a wheelbarrow. It’s hard work, but it gets easier with practice, and at times it lets up, and moving through the world feels a little easier.
Mud season is a time to take stock of one’s potential for growth and change. To note what is keeping you from getting to your chosen destination, and to put in the work to move forward.
In Farm-Based Therapy clients partner with their clinicians to create a sustainable and supportive environment for all beings. And it is often the physical experiences of working on the farm that helps clients initiate discussions about mental health.
Mud is not going away- it will return every year. It can be a good time for self-reflection and creative endeavors. It can also be a time to acknowledge that the mud has been really deep this year and you’re feeling stuck. If the latter option is where you’re at, please reach out for help, either to Cultivate or to your already established support network. The spring is going to be beautiful and we’ll get there together.
