Farmers are independent workers. They are working on large sections of land, miles from nowhere usually.
Farmers need to plough (or plow) their fields before they can plant seeds and grow crops. Ploughing is when a tractor pulls a blade through a field creating furrows, and the purpose is to turn and break up soil, to bury crop residues, and to help control weeds.
Photo by Nicolas Veithen on Pexels.com
You can probably envision a tractor driving long straight lines, back and forth, trying to keep the lines straight and be efficient since there is a lot of land to be ploughed.
Occasionally the farmer comes across an obstacle, like an old tree stump. Maybe it is something the farmer can remove, but if he does it could take the rest of the day so he will lose hours or a whole day to remove an obstacle that he could just detour around and then resume his ploughing.
Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.
That happens with me also. I sometimes come across something unexpected that is blocking my path, something I can’t change.
I sometimes have my day all planned, my orderly mind has the day all mapped out, then something changes. Now my plans must change, I can’t do exactly what I had planned, and maybe it changes the whole rest of my day.
I could get frustrated, or I could accept that sometimes there’s a stump in the way, I can look at it as an obstacle or an opportunity.
I am getting better at ploughing around the stump. Maybe there is something else I am meant to”discover”, or accomplish if I just open my mind, and forget about the stump.
Maybe even I will later look back on the stump “obstacle” and be glad it changed the course of my day.
Regardless, the stump is there, and the farmer’s wisdom is right, instead of letting it throw the farmer off, he simply moves forward with just a quick detour.
The obstacle is quickly forgotten, if you let it, as you move forward.
Just thinking out loud, and hoping you will have a wonderful day.
This post was inspired by a friend. I had coffee with this friend the other day and frustration with something uncontrollable was causing my friend stress and it reminded me of farmer’s wisdom.
Life and Random Thinking 
Great wisdom…thank you🙏
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Thank you Suzette, I am pleased you liked it. 🙂
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I’m a get-the stump-out-of-the-way person. That’s a result of years of work in that atmosphere, but I get what you’re saying. A by-pass is sometimes the better part of valour. 🙂
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I smiled when I read that. I tend to be focused also, and completely so when I have lost something. it’s awful.
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Great analogy!
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Thanks Marla, I’m glad you liked it. Did it make you think of a particular circumstance?
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More general. I tend to like things done in the way I expect them to be. But, bigger picture, a little stump here or there isn’t necessarily insurmountable. And they can even change the scenery in a positive way. My OCD tendencies needed the reminder, so thank you for that.
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I hate it when my well-laid plans are subverted by the unexpected,, but the stump in my cornfield is there because I didn’t do anything about it when I had the opportunity. I can’t well plead ignorance, since stumps used to be trees and easily visible, and I can’t well plead powerlessness because I have a tractor and, doubtless, a shovel so I could remove the stump before I ever began plowing.
Know what? I’m going to stick with what I said about the stump but I’m going to apologize for breaking your balls with the hair splitting. I enjoy reading your stuff and look forward to more random thinking.
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I hope your day doesn’t have any stumps today.
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I have a tooth that’s really giving me the business right now. That likely contributed to my grouchy demeanor. I hope to get that cleared up soon.
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Wonderful analogy to life. Great post. – Marty
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Thanks Marty, I’m glad you commented and liked the analogy. Much appreciated
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