At some point in your life, you’ve probably seen a group of children with jump ropes, playing Double Dutch. The two children at each end turn the jump ropes in a regular rhythm, while a third waits at the side, eyes intent, looking for just the right moment. Then, responding to some cue in the ropes, to some internal instinct, that child jumps in.

The first few times - the first ten times, the first hundred - their feet tangle in the ropes. They step out, and the children at the ends reset. Then, one of the times, they jump in and everything comes together. Their feet fly over the ropes. They laugh, and lose their rhythm, and get tangled up again. But for that first moment, everything comes together.

You can’t jump in before the rope’s moving. You can’t learn just by watching. Someone can teach you the basics, but sooner or later, you just have to jump in and go.

We’ve tried lots of new things this year. We’ve hosted new experiences and invited people to join us for our exploratory, inspirational On the Farm series. We’ve tried new ways to build our teamwork and understanding of each other. Of course, we plan these things, and we try to anticipate what we’ll need to know and do. But no matter how carefully we plan, the ropes keep turning. Time keeps moving. Eventually, we have to jump in.

I think I’m writing this as a kind of reminder: a placeholder for myself that I hope will reach out to something in you, too. No matter what we do, we have to jump in. We have to risk getting our feet tangled. When they do, it’s not the end. We just step out, let the ropes start turning again, wait for our moment, and leap.

Your Farmer-
Luke