Principal's Report

We’ll build a sweet little nest

Somewhere in the west

And let the rest of the world go by.

Some of you may know that I am currently trying to build an environmentally friendly permaculture home and lifestyle in a small town just out of Daylesford. Many have asked me if this is to escape the busyness of being the principal at MFG and to seek a quieter existence in my eventual retirement. I have been thinking about these questions and our MFG trait: optimistic about the future. Below is my current thinking…which I might say is an underrated task in itself; many people underestimate how enjoyable and engaging just thinking about something can be. 

A very common reaction to today’s lifestyle is the feeling that we want to ‘drop out’, to rediscover the important things, to get out of the ‘rat race.’ We sigh with envy at the sight of ‘simple life’ exponents pottering around their gardens, engaging in earnest conversations about soil and weather, followed by the ubiquitous television cameras and commentators.  In our busy shopping centres we flick through endless book titles extolling the virtues of self-sufficiency and simplicity.  We give a wry smile of affirmation at the comment of Lily Tomlin - the trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you’re still a rat… - and experience a sense of guilt or sadness that we can’t extract ourselves from the mad pace and demands of modern life. 

Let me put a counter opinion.  The simple life isn’t that simple!  And most of us would hate it anyway!  I have no desire to withdraw from this modern, rushing, vivid, changing and exciting world. This is a fascinating time to be alive! True, there are times when we need to take time to ‘smell the roses’, but the problem for most of us isn’t time itself.  Nor is the solution a radical change of lifestyle.  The challenge is finding a sense of rhythm in our busy lives.

I think finding that sense of rhythm has a lot to do with ‘connections.’  These days we are much more conscious of connections and much more able to be connected. We seem to be connected all over the place whether we like it or not!  But it is not connectedness itself that we need, it is an understanding of our important connections - the connections that provide the healing power of love and a sense of purpose in our lives. 

Only two connections are really worth thinking about – with ourselves and our intimate friends and relations. To some extent these vital connections involve the allocation of time, but time is not the critical thing. It is that understanding, appreciation and communication of what is important to us that develops a sense of rhythm and balance in what might still be a very busy life. 

Whether we are getting it right can be judged, I think, by noticing where our mind spends most of its time. If we are thinking about, dealing with, and concerned only for our many trivial or superficial connections then the consequences are likely to be strain, guilt, depression, frustration and loss.  A sense of rhythm, on the other hand, is developed as our minds dwell frequently on our important connections, even in the midst of the humdrum, the trivia and the demands of a busy schedule.

We may, of course, consider ourselves too busy to think about establishing a sense of rhythm - but we don’t have to give up busyness to find it…

Michelle Crofts

Principal MFG