The Emotional Landscape of Life on the Land

Life on the land isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Yeah you might have your freedom, plenty of open space and be lucky enough to be your own boss. But then there’s the isolation, the tyranny of being so far away from normal conveniences and the unpredictability of making a living from the land. Most people on the land live between extremes. You can have good years and crap years. One year you’ll have everything you need in abundance, while the next you’re just surviving. Life on the land can be bloody tough. Some people cling to hope year in year out, while others are realistic and accept that things will always change, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. For farmers there’s also the lack of separation between work and home. Your home is your work - you can’t turn your back on a mob of sheep that have been stranded by flood in the middle of the night. But then neither can you sow a crop when you feel like it or take holidays when the kids are on holidays. You live at the beck and call of the elements. And nature is not always so kind - one minute she’s giving you all that you need, the next she’s taking it all away.

Despite this, life on the land is not always so bleak. And for the majority of land owners there is more good periods, then there are bad periods. But life on the land can be challenging, even during good times - thanks to the stresses of modern life and the stresses imposed by the things that no one can control. Farmers live in a world where there is no absolute certainties and they are as much at the mercy of export markets, as they are to the weather.

For all of us, life holds a rainbow of emotions - frustration, uncertainty, anger, excitement, hope, despair, grief, anticipation and curiosity - just to name a few. For people on the land, particularly farmers, all these emotions are pushed to the extreme. Few of us know how to stay calm and healthy at the best of times, let alone during times challenge and crisis. So, given that the emotional landscape of life on the land is as rugged and as diverse as the land itself, how do we survive ? I believe the there are 4 keys to surviving life on the land :

1. Being aware of our choices and knowing what we can control and what we can’t
2. Being mindful of our thoughts and feelings
3. Being aware of the cues that our bodies are sending us that something is not well
4. Maintaining healthy relationships with family, friends and other members of our support network.

Rather than exploring these in detail (which I’ll do in later issues), I’d like to offer a few exercises, which might help you to become more aware of how well you are functioning :

1. Make 2 columns. On 1 side right down what you can control and what you cant, then on a scale of 1-10 assign a value to how much stress each thing causes you. Note how much stress you allow the things you can’t control to cause you.
2A. Close you eyes for 5 minutes and sit still. Notice what thoughts arise and the feelings that each though generates. Allow your mind to wander off on tangents, then gently bring your attention back to your breath. How long before another thought kicks in ? And what is it’s flavour - is it negative or positive, does it require action or does it cause you stress. ?
2B. Take 5 minutes out of your day, to notice your mind. Are you paying attention to the moment or are you lost in thought about the past or the future ?
3. Close your eyes for 5 minutes and breath gently. Just notice any pain or discomfort or unusual sensations that arises in your body. Where is it and what does it feel like ? Just sit with it and allow it to be !
4A. Draw a circle with lines coming out of it. In the circle write ‘me’. At the end of the lines write down the names of all the people and groups in your life. Use bold lines for people you have great relationships with, dashed lines for ok relationships and no lines for people you wish that you had a relationship with. This is your current situation. Then create a map for some future time - say in a years time. Look at the differences and notice the relationships that need more work .
4B. See what happens if you abstain from criticizing for a whole day. If that works well try a whole week, then a whole month.
4C. Try praising 3 people every day.

If you, a partner, a mate or someone you know is experiencing difficulties, don’t hesitate to contact one of the following support services :

Mensline Australia : 1300 789 978 Lifeline : 13 11 14
Lifeline’s Information Line : 1300 13 11 13
Relationships Australia : 1300 364 277
Kids Help Line : 1800 551 800
Emma House Domestic Violence Services (Warrnambool) : 55 611 934
Community Connections (Warrnambool) : 1300 361 680
Sage Hill Carer Services (Warrnambool) : 55 615 261 .