Avocados and Pepsi

You may be wondering how avocados and Pepsi link to communities and community development. First, my personal learning about the avocado and a Pepsi can. My garden activities have been greatly influenced by snow. So, I have created an inside garden next to my house plants. I purchased two avocados in October and I thought it would be a superb idea to further test my gardening skills by attempting to help those avocado pits grow. If you have ever examined one of the avocado pits they are brown, hard, a bit oval, and very difficult to put a dent into. However, with a lot of patience, nurturing, and continuous fresh water something has started to happen. After two months there is now a crack on top and without doubt I know there will soon be some growth.

The Pepsi can has a different story. Friends were coming over and I needed to have some refreshments ready. I was being impatient and trying to do too many things at once. Walking out of my pantry room with arms full of food items I heard a crash and something like a BIG pop. I looked and brown liquid had spread EVERYWHERE from the exploding Pepsi can (don’t try this at home). In the moment I remained quite calm and proceeded to clean up the mess. More importantly I was rewarded with my calm reaction to the situation. This may seem silly to some, but sometimes accepting those little things in the midst of a challenging day can be difficult!

My stories link to communities and community development in terms of how communities move forward. My own experiences with rural communities are that patience helps the journey to greater successes. Growing up the common term on the farm was “next year we’ll get to it”. It did not mean that the item would get lost or forgotten. But rather, the process to reach the goal would take longer. Slowing down means making sure key pieces are in place and that people are part of the process.

When communities try to juggle too many things at once, like my Pepsi cans, then something has to give. But, when something critical does occur reactions to the event speaks volumes to the capacity of a community learning from the incident. At one time one of my professors shared a simple formula: E + R= O. Emotion plus reaction equals outcome. This seems quite simple, but I think it is important to remember that we can shape the outcome of events in many ways. I admit, at one point I wanted to throw out my avocado pit that didn’t seem to be doing anything. But, I was gently reminded that some things take more time, and this was one of those instances.

Rural communities face many challenges while trying to stay rural in the urban forest. Building ways within communities that keep practices and people active, creative and engaged will help communities move forward. Taking the time to set the structures to move forward without leaping ahead takes group effort. However, with some time, patience, and trust things will start to grow, like the avocado pit.

“The whole struggle of life is to some extent a struggle about how slowly or how quickly to do each thing.” Sten Nadolny (author)