I awoke this morning at 6:00 am before the heat and humidity set in to complete the glorious task of mucking out the chicken house. It is not the most enjoyable of tasks but nevertheless a productive one.
I am reminded of the quote by Winston Churchill, “An optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty. A pessimist sees difficulty in each opportunity.”
While shoveling chicken manure is a dirty task, the results are valuable for my gardens. I am left with a rich, zero waste fertilizer that is already composted with cedar shavings brought to our homestead from a local lumber mill. There are no plastic fertilizer bags left to dispose of. There are no questions about how many chemicals are contained in the fertilizer, if it is harmful or beneficial.
We have kept the waste of one aspect of the homestead here and turned it in to something productive. That is an accomplishment! Nothing was sent to the landfill in the process. How can I expand this idea of turning waste into something productive on the homestead? Only time will tell. The task was much more fulfilling than I had anticipated when I got out of bed.
We each have tasks that aren’t our favorite to accomplish in our lives. However, the next time you catch yourself thinking “Do I really have to do that?” stop and see the opportunity that presents itself. It’s an opportunity to grow – minus any procrastination – and find the opportunity in the perceived difficulty.
