Making Compost from Waste
This morning I woke up very early to drive a friend to a hospital for day of brain testing. Being up early meant that I got a lot done today, completing the first part of my presentation at a conference on a Conversation with Mahatma Gandhi and St. Ignatius of Loyola on Nonviolence and Sustainability, delivering some leftover brick stones for another friend, working in the gardens and a few other things. But I did notice that I was sharp in the morning but as the day went on I started to lose my mind’s focus.
Usually when I work in the garden my mind is fully present to the task at hand. However, this afternoon my mind began to wander and I started to think of something I wanted to write for tomorrow, Sept. 24th, the 41st anniversary of the Milwaukee 14 action. Also I started to worry about what others were saying or thinking about my message and me on another issue, something I seldom do. I credit these two useless things, thinking about the future and worrying about what others say, to a mind weak and tired by lack of sleep.
The friend I delivered the brick stones to for his garden had some tomato plants doing really well. When I said he must have good soil he told me that soil in his yard was poor, very clay like. I asked him how come the abundant tomatoes? Was he, God forbid, using artificial fertilizer? He said no but he was using compost. I asked him where his compost pile was and he said he had none. A friend of his collected all his waste for compost, composted it and gave him back what he needed in the spring. His weak and tired soil was invigorated by compost created by a friend from his waste.
This made me think of my weak efforts to get the city of Milwaukee to compost waste at the city dump and give it back to residents. Cities around us do that but Milwaukee just pays a major corporation to take the waste away, and the major company composts it and sells it in some form as fertilizer or makes it into energy.
If I seem to be wandering in mind and words it might be so. But before I sleep let me make my point clear. The weak and waste can be strong and useful with sleep and composting. That sure does not make sense!
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