I have two inspirational Digital Friends, a couple, Lynn and Sandra, who have a Croft, Lynbreck Croft, in the Cairngorms in Scotland, which they run as an Agricultural Cooperative. (If you would like to know more about them, just enter Lynbreck Croft in a search engine). They moved there in 2016 and have transformed it. As you may be aware, the weather in Scotland can be very, very wild. My main memory of them is when I was looking out on my field as it was raining, and wondering if I did want to go out and repair a fence, then clicking into their Facebook page, and seeing a picture of Sandra trudging through deep still falling snow to feed their Highland Cattle. I went out and fixed the fence! They put a post on Facebook recently that really was, as they put it, a metaphor for life, and they are happy (thank you both) for me to use it here as 'my' Green Page and also on 'my' next Parish News Green Page, although it is, of course, theirs:
Rooted 
We’ve certainly had our fair share of extreme weather this winter. Howling winds that have kept us awake all night and so much rain that new ‘pop up’ rivers have formed through our fields. In the main though, we’ve been relatively unaffected. We’re grateful for that. There’s just one exception which has led to learnings and reflections…..
We have thousands of naturally regenerating Scots Pine trees across Lynbreck, the majority protected behind deer fences. We’ve also planted a few in one of our shelterbelts, a strip of trees connecting 2 woodlands. These are not behind a deer fence so have been grown in the protection of guards. They’ve grown well above ground, but not below. The guards have protected the trees so effectively that they haven’t had the exposure they need to develop strong roots beneath. So, when a storm comes, they blow over.
It’s kind of like a metaphor for life today.
Many of us live in a culture that is so comfortable where we seek out easy, sometimes indulgent living and look for protection from modern life around us. Like our trees, we live in guards that give a false sense of security. Because the guards only last so long. The only way we can thrive is to expose ourselves to the world around us and develop our inner resilience, our own roots.
It makes sense right?