Bounty and Scarcity

If you sit long enough to listen, nature can give us so many life lessons. And the changing seasons reminds us that there is a time for everything, including a natural and recurring cycle of bounty and scarcity. 

The Northern Hemisphere is in the fall, but the Southern Hemisphere is in the spring. What is nature trying to tell us? Perhaps a reminder that we can all be in different seasons at the same time. 

The concept of planting and waiting for a bountiful harvest in the future goes well beyond the harvesting of food. One person may be in a season of bounty, while another person may be in a season of scarcity. This is relevant to so many situations. It can apply to money as we plan for college or retirement. It can apply to relationships as busyness or tension impacts time together. It can apply to health as habits — good or bad — impacts us physically. 

Perhaps the big lesson is grace toward each other for whatever season we’re in.

It feels like a fitting analogy and a powerful life lesson right now. The pandemic was a period of scarcity for so many. Some lost jobs. Others, like myself, lost family members or close friends. Others lost touch of friends as people hunkered down in smaller groups.

But the implicit lesson from nature is the reminder that after scarcity, there will be bounty … some day. 

During the pandemic, some people experienced bounty during a time of scarcity. Some were able to work from home, so they were given the gift of time. Some had a reduction in work travel, so they were able to spend more time with family. Some saw a reduction in their schedule, so they were able to slow down and rest.

Scarcity

The last few years represented business scarcity for our region. 

In 2020, The Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA)’s TEUs were down 12.1% compared to 2019, with recovery in 2021. Due to congestion in other ports and ongoing service suspensions, total container volumes are down 7.3% YTD September 2022 — full imports declined 11.4% while full exports decreased 21.7% vs. YTD September 2021. Reduced vessel calls mean reduced capacity for agricultural exports, including products grown right here in Washington state. 

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) passenger traffic dropped 59% in 2020, compared to 2019. During the summer of 2020, only 25% of the passenger volume of 2019 flew, although numbers have steadily increased since June.

I love to travel, but the pandemic impacted my ability to comfortably do so, although I know of people who traveled during the pandemic. I only recently began traveling outside of the PNW, so I was not able to see my family in the south until recently.

Bounty 

After being grounded for the last few years, I appreciate even more that I’m getting ready to board a plane to travel and rejoin the world, which I will be doing later this fall. I’m excited to leave North America and travel. I love history, and I am excited to revisit some loved cities and see a few new ones.

Harvest time is an occasion to celebrate bounty around the world. For example, Mid-Autumn Festival, Chuseok, and Tsukimi are celebrations in Asia — the largest trading region for the NWSA. The day falls on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, which could fall mid-September to early October. The festivals celebrate the moon, sun, and the harvest. To celebrate, families gather with food and give thanks for the harvest. Prayer for things like a spouse, good fortune, and children are common. 

If you are feeling bountiful, participate in some of the upcoming harvest festivals in the Seattle area. 

Upcoming Seattle-Area Fall Festivals

• Pike Place Harvest Festival – Oct. 29 
• Street of Treats Autumn Fest – Oct. 29
• West Seattle Harvest Festival – Oct. 30

Speaking of family gatherings, I felt emotionally full after being able to visit family in the South and eastern Washington earlier this fall.

Cycle of life 

The way nature works in harmony and with purpose is poetic. These changing seasons tie to the cycle of life, with the equinox seasons reminding us of balance. In our interconnected world, this seasonal rhythm has wide-ranging impacts on people, regions, countries, and around the globe. 

Spring equinox

During spring, the tickle in my noise lets me know the earth is awaking. Plants begin to bud, and flowers begin to bloom. Days get longer, and the chirping of birds begins earlier and earlier. I know this because when the weather is nice, my windows are open to enjoy the cool breeze. Spring is the season that most represents planting to me (though I realize some crops are planted in the summer and the fall). A lot of the crops planted in the spring are harvested in the fall. 

Summer solstice

The summer solstice is always bittersweet for me. The buildup to it is quite lovely, yet I am so aware that days begin to get shorter. Still, those long summer nights are so enjoyable. The city is alive, and people who have hibernated all summer come out to play. Summer is the time for sweetness and indulgence. And to reap the rewards of watering, weeding, and pruning. 

Like our delicious cherries that are destined for South Korea, Taiwan, China, Vietnam, and Mexico, to name a few.

Autumn equinox

There is something about the autumn that speaks to me. Tree leaves changing to shades of red, orange, and yellow before nature shows us the beauty of letting go (of dying things). The slight chill in the morning air that feels so good against my face. The shortening days as summer slowly makes way for fall, which make me want to curl up with a book. Yearly traditions like going to a pumpkin patch and going through a corn maze, all the while thinking about Children of the Corn and slightly (internally) freaking out. The fall also kicks off my favorite time of the year, which is between Halloween and New Year’s. 

Autumn is the time to harvest what was planted and nurtured. And a final chance for reward and appreciating abundance before the next cycle. 

In the fall, Washington state abundance reaches the world:

• Apples to Mexico, Canada, India, and Taiwan
• Pulses (legumes) destined to India, Peru, Spain, and Pakistan
• Soybeans destined for China, Japan, Taiwan, and Mexico

Winter solstice

Winter is the time the earth goes dormant and reminds us of the importance of rest, and I take that cue from nature. Winter is also the time when we enjoy the fruit of our labor. I do not mind the rain in winter. I find it cleansing. 

“Ten thousand flowers in spring, the moon in autumn,
a cool breeze in summer, snow in winter.
If your mind isn’t crowded with ten thousand things,
this is the best season of your life.”

― Wu-Men

 

In winter, our region shares our nourishing abundance with the world — approximately 90 percent of Washington state wheat is exported.

And the cycle repeats over and over again, as it has for millennia.

Giving thanks

As the world opens again, there is so much to be thankful for, especially things I took for granted. Over the last few years, I have learned what matters. 

Scarcity is a time to pull together, nurture each other, and rest to prepare for the future bounty. I enjoy the television show Lark Rise to Candleford, which portrays a young woman from a small hamlet who moves to a nearby wealthier market town. Whether hamlet or town, rich or poor — struggles came to all. Including a measles epidemic in one episode; the hamlet must care for sick children while harvesting wheat that will sustain them during the winter. The importance of community and support — often from unexpected places — is front and center. One scene that gets me teary eyed each time I see it is a moment when people from the town show up to help with the harvest so their neighbors in the hamlet would not starve in the winter. A reminder that all of our common struggles are tempered by help from neighbors. 

Abundance is a time of gratitude and for coming together to celebrate bounty. The biggest gift and blessing is being with family and friends — gathering over food and living out this journey that is called life together.