Everything is a Collaboration
Early this morning, as I gave our dogs Henry and Leo their first farm walk of the day, I thought about my father standing on the very same soil four decades ago, helping me and my husband build new supports for our raspberry plants. I can see him so clearly…relaxed, happy, and completely focused. He loved his work and never viewed it as a chore.
Myra’s husband Drew (left), Myra, and her father Mendek staking raspberries, 1984
During those early years of Earthbound Farm, as my dad and I worked side-by-side, picking raspberries or washing salad greens, we never had a deep conversation about life. Back then, I’d never have guessed that I would be sitting here now, the same age as he was then, sharing his passion for writing about philosophy, healing, and spiritual growth.
This month marks the third anniversary of the release of Quest for Eternal Sunshine—A Holocaust Survivor’s Journey from Darkness to Light—our father-daughter posthumous collaboration. What’s been notable is how so many of my dad’s revelations have only become personally relevant to me with the passage of time. For example, an essential part of my father’s healing journey was about learning to embrace his inner child—his previously rejected younger self whom he called “little Mendek.” When I wrote last month’s blog, The Pitfalls of Praise, and referred to my inner child as “little Myra,” I just kept smiling and shaking my head.
Advanced copies of Quest for Eternal Sunshine upon arrival
As my connection to my father keeps deepening, and as I internalize more of his lessons, my gratitude, love and respect for him continues to grow. I am reminded of the words shared by Thich Nhat Hanh in Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet:
“My father has passed away, but he has not disappeared. He is still available. In every cell of our bodies we have our parents and ancestors, and we can talk with them, here and now. I do that all the time. I feel that my father is always alive with me. I invite him to walk with me and breathe with me. And what he could not do in his lifetime I try to do for him. We inter-are.”
Myra with her parents, Edith and Mendek, 1994
The more I reflect on it, the more I can see that everything is a collaboration. Nothing we do is ever done all on our own. The air we breathe, the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the words we speak—everything is a collaboration with all that came before us. Thich Nhat Hanh wrote about the importance of throwing away the notion that we are separate selves, because it doesn’t reflect the true nature of reality. In fact, the whole cosmos is in each of us: “You are the continuation of parents, ancestors, stars, moon, sun, rivers, mountains. Everything is in you.”
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