Straing and Satisfction.

Just because it's an urban farm doesn't mean the work appears easy.

Yesterday, I returned to Altius Farms for another volunteer shift. Moving planters, cleaning floors, washing pots, and tackling the countless small jobs required to keep a farm operating all come with the territory. By the end of my shift, I was tired. My lower back was sore. And strangely enough, the feeling was familiar.

It reminded me of working on a farm when I was in high school. Back then, I did the work for a paycheck. I remember the physical labor, the dirt, and especially the fatigue at the end of the day.

Decades later, the work feels different.

The strain may be familiar, but now there exists another feeling alongside it: satisfaction.

Knowing that 50% of the herbs and produce grown at Altius Farms goes directly to a local food pantry changes the meaning of the work. Cleaning a pot or moving a planter represents a small task. But those small tasks appear part of a much larger chain that ultimately puts fresh food into the hands of people who need it.

I'm beginning to appreciate something through these volunteer experiences: meaningful work doesn't always feel meaningful while you're doing it. Sometimes it looks like cleaning a floor. Sometimes it's moving something heavy from one side of a greenhouse to another. Sometimes it leaves you tired and sore.

The meaning comes form understanding what all those small efforts help to accomplish.

Yesterday, I left Altius Farms with a sore back, dirty hands, and a great deal of satisfaction.

I'll take that trade.