Moving Beyond the Comfort Zone

The swish of long grass beside me and the squish of mud between my toes moves me beyond my comfort zone of what is clean, comfortable and safe.

But when left with no alternatives, I proceed forward determined to reach my goal of viewing the recently completed small scale irrigation system that is providing a source of water to the newly developed rice paddies, which show case the benefits of hard manual labour.

Today I find myself on a field visit with representatives from the Ministry of Forestry and Agriculture, Provincial Office of Forestry and Agriculture, District Office of Social Welfare, District Mayor’s Office, and MCC project staff.

Getting out into the field renews and inspires me, and so I was eager to join in this field visit. After riding in a 25’ “canoe-like” boat with a motor for more than an hour, we disembarked on the muddy banks of the river shore. From there we headed up the path on our way to the destination. Leary of lurking leeches, project staff provided me with fresh lemons to rub on my feet, ankles and lower legs. However, only a few meters down the path, I needed to cross a stream, which quickly removed any protective lemon juice from my feet.

Well, with no protection from the leeches, I would just have to move quickly and hope they didn’t notice me. As we proceeded down the path, we reached a muddy section. There was no choice but to walk through the mud. With each step in my flip flops, I felt my feet being sucked deeper into the mud. Those with sure feet were quick to assist me, as I struggled not to loose my balance and maneuver my way through the mud.

Finally we reached the rice paddies. Now I had to make my way along the ridges of dirt that formed the boundary for each paddy. On either side of the ridge was waist height rice just coming into head. If the rice paddy was developed properly it also contained several inches of water to nourish the rice plants. Now it was time to fully concentrate and keep my gaze on the path ahead, so as not to lose my balance and end up in the rice paddy.

By the time we reached the main irrigation canal, it was ‘easy’ traveling, as the villagers had recently cleared the vegetation along the path.

After viewing the irrigation canal and dam, a stop for lunch in the shelter of the farmer’s temporary bamboo shelter, was much appreciated. MCC provided the lunch, and the farmer supplemented the meal with fresh steamed bamboo shoots from the nearby forest and rice they had received through the Food for Work program.

As I gazed out across the maturing rice fields, I was inspired. The farmers had worked hard in the past 6 months to complete the irrigation system, develop the rice paddies and plant their first significant crop of paddy rice. They were moving beyond their comfort zone to grow rice in new ways and move away from the traditional slash and burn techniques no longer permitted.

Surely I too could move beyond my comfort zone and get a mud between my toes.