00291 Permaculture Wisdom Sayings

Wisdom is to live in the present, plan for the future and profit from the past. — Found on the internet.

Wisdom sayings are important ways to convey knowledge and truth. The first six are attributed to Bill Mollison. The seventh is from Dan Hemenway. The eighth is a traditional wisdom saying that is particularly applicable to permaculture design.

Wait one year. We are a species in a hurry. The idea of waiting “a whole year” for something we greatly desire is a foreign concept for many. Yet, observation is the first stage of permaculture design and good observation takes time. You can’t just drop in on a situation and watch things for a few hours and come away with a complete understanding of what we need. A situation needs to be observed through all the seasons of the year to understand how it interacts with its surroundings. “Wait one year” is a counsel of patience.

We are surrounded by insurmountable opportunities. For all of our sometimes gloomy talk about the problems of this world, permaculture as a design discipline is inherently optimistic. Sure we are in a deep hole. Our first job now is to stop digging the hole deeper, and to design ways out of the hole. This makes the situation better. Every step toward a better future is a step toward a better future. That, by definition, and by practical action, is good.

Mistakes are tools for learning. Sometimes we freeze ourselves into inaction, or languish in procrastination, because we are afraid to make a mistake. I have some personal pride about the list of plants that grow on my former lawns. There is another longer list of plants I tried to grow but that did not survive. No one is capable of perfect understanding in any situation. So just expect that you will make mistakes. Practice the ability to recognize your mistakes and get out of them quickly. Don’t continue to make the mistake, over and over and over again, just because, you know, you made that decision and now figure you have to stick with it. When the evidence mounts that it was the wrong thing at the wrong time in the wrong place, change your course!

The problem often contains the solution. The Oklahoma Food Cooperative is an excellent example of this wisdom saying. There we were in 2002, with limited access to local foods. Out of that problem, with the actual application of a permaculture design process (although we didn’t really think of it as such in those days), grew the Oklahoma Food Cooperative, providing better access to local foods for hundreds of families every month.

Everything gardens. Just think about this one for a while.

Start at your doorstep. Begin at the beginning. Look in the mirror to find the leader you have been waiting for. You will have your greatest impact on that which is closest to you, and through this work you can do your part to change the world. Start literally at your doorstep to do design.

We don’t have time to be in a rush. This is a quote from Dan Hemenway, and it is one of the hardest wisdoms for modern people to learn. We swim in a sea of crises, and this drives an adrenaline “fight or flight” rush at every turn. We think that in response to the onrushing doom that we must act quickly or we will all die. Well, acting quickly without much thought is one of the primary ways we got into the present situation. We won’t get out of it by acting quickly without much thought. What we need now is “think first, then act, slowly and carefully.” Measure twice, cut once.

Don’t let the perfect become the enemy of the good. This is a saying that illustrates the principle of natural succession. I often think of meat directly from local producers who practice humane systems of natural agriculture. If that isn’t possible, a good choice would be to minimize meat in the diet and perhaps even go vegetarian until a local food system can take root and throw up a few green shoots to nibble on. This can go the other way too, seeing a different set of decisions as bad, “badder,” and worst.