Reflections on Foraging my Way Through Life
For those of you who have a curious mind but are often jumping from one idea to the next then foraging might be just for you. I have a tendency to plough through life like it is one long episode of back to the future. Going from place to place, idea to idea, job to job and always trying to solve an insolvable issue as I go. Do I seem like a bit of an Aquarius? Yes, this is me. There is rarely a moment when my mind isn’t racing to grab the next opportunity.
When I was introduced to foraging by my mother and my grandfather I thought that it was a thing that every child did when they were growing up. Just like picking blackberries on an Autumn’s day. Didn’t you pick winkles and mushrooms too? Sometimes the answer was no and so my mission to forage with the masses began. For me life has always been one great foraging adventure. I seek the wildness in the mundane, I approach business like an arts and crafts project, I never considered myself an innovator but I grew to love innovation.
When I was young my mother would tell us stories of how Dad would try to invent the next big thing. He would write his big idea on an A4 piece of paper, put it into a briefcase and stroll up to the bank to get the funding he needed to take over the world with his brainstorming session. It is safe to say that the banks needed more than 1 sheet of A4 paper. However, this approach to entrepreneurship stayed with me. If you have a passion for something than give it a try.
Determination and effort were two concepts that seemed to come natural. I am not afraid of hard work. Being Irish helps. I think as a culture we always feel like the under dog, forcing us to re-imagine possibilities. However, these two traits don’t necessarily lead to success. Focus was always a struggle for me. No sooner would I have one project completed than I would be on to the next, not even staying to find out the results and listen to the feedback. Hell no, that was yesterday. What’s happening tomorrow? I got a bit of slack for this.
Although many of my ideas would work for a client I was bored when they wanted a report or even asked how they could repeat the process. For me, the success of an idea is as much about the energy as the implementation and once that energy is burned through it is difficult to articulate the sense of urgency and opportunity it created at that one time. Ask me to think of the future and I am buzzing. Looking back at the past isn’t always necessary as long as you learn from your mistakes.
Now when people say that I need to focus on one thing I ask them why? The usual answer is that you can accomplish more if you focus on one thing and keep working on it. Foraging would be quite frustrating for somebody who basks in consistency as one day you find something, the next day it is gone. I say, everybody is different when it comes to their approach to productivity. Don’t try to conform, don’t change just because somebody wants you too, don’t give in to a preordained situation; Keep transforming and keep asking questions. This is the buzz, the drive and the passion that will allow you to live wholly.
This is why foraging is a perfect match for me and others. Once the mushroom season is over I am forced to rethink my surroundings, re-imagine the landscapes, study new herbs, plants and trees. Nature wants you to focus for a period of time but doesn’t feel it is necessary to sit at a desk for 45 hours a week. Nature asks you to discover, to seek, to explore and to wander about the spaces around you.
I just wanted to put this out there for any creatives that struggle to stay focused. You don’t have to be doing the same thing, find a way to use your creative energy and you will find success. Find something where you are forced to re-imagine the possible outcomes and you will learn to love what you do.
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Happy Foraging!
