Ahhh…the most quiet, the most elusive, the most private of the Dream Team…Chris. However, Chris also happens to have been one of my biggest inspirations when I was first living here in Sarasota 4 1/2 years ago. My perspective on many things changed as a result of my friendship with him. This will most certainly be challenging to share as little as I can to respect his privacy but to reveal how much this man has positively influenced my life.
I first met Chris in early November of 2008. It was his first day on the farm. I had only been there a couple months myself but I had observed already that the first day at the farm was often the last one if a potential new employee didn’t get a bit of a heads up on the very unique work environment that defines Jessica’s Stand. Me being me, I often was the one to provide the head’s up. Plus, I was still stoked about being able to share the fact that I could now identify 11 types of lettuce & about a dozen other crops I didn’t even know existed prior to my work experience at the farm. I wanted another newbie with whom to share my silly excitement.
Chris was quiet but the depth of his soul spoke volumes. And as I quickly learned, farm work at Jessica’s was intensely spiritual. Every person that works there is absolutely energetically drawn to do so. No one’s path is crossing accidentally at Bill Pischer’s farm…no one’s. Chris was quiet so at first we didn’t exchange a lot of words, (or at least he didn’t…I’m sure I did whether he wanted to hear them or no) but his energy and mine were most certainly connecting.
I didn’t begin to really get to know Chris until a couple of months later. He ended up moving on from the farm in early January, but I still would bring him some produce each week. Usually, it was late on Saturday night. I would leave Nicole’s and head to Chris’s place. On the nights he was there, that is when I learned the story of the strongest soul I know in my life today.
I witnessed in Chris, via his story, the absolute weakness and the absolute strength of the human spirit and what it is capable of doing when it is focused and driven by love & what happens when love is absent. This man, against great odds, had made his way back to town to help raise his now 12-year old son. I just admired the hell out of him. The courage and the perseverance it took as he continued to balance the following of his heart with the responsibilities of being a father given the many obstacles he had in his path. He had many chances to throw in the towel and he didn’t. He just kept pushing through, taking life day-by-day.
Again, not accidentally, I was meeting Chris as I unknowingly prepared to enter my darkest days. He had just awoken from his. Not a coincidence. His story gave me great strength. In fact, from that point on, whenever I have found myself in the depths of my dark place, I think of Chris. I think about how much worse he had survived and slowly, I would be able to bring perspective back to my own situation. However, on more than one occasion, in fact as recently as when I was in Seattle, I’ve called Chris when I haven’t been able to calm myself. No fuss. He just knows how to help balance the validation I’m seeking for whatever I am feeling and the remembering that nothing is that big a deal. He is just an incredible friend, whose spirituality has guided his life and influenced mine tremendously.
While living here in ’09-’10, I was investigating a lot of different faiths. I went to some Quaker meetings, I attended 2 services of the Mennonite Church (another farmhand was the youth pastor there), and through Chris, I had my first experience with Buddhism. He had found the chanting done by this particular sect to be very helpful in his healing. It most definitely resonated with me from the very first night. It was tribal and I found it to be very powerful. Despite not chanting regularly with the group, I do so on my own at least a few times a week and will forever have Chris to thank for introducing me.
As far as Chris’s role in all of “this”. Along with Nicole, he has seen it all. Chris knows my extremes unlike very few. Many have witnessed the highs, but the lows always scared most other folks away. Not Nicole. And not Chris. He has a very calm, collected, wise demeanor. Completely opposite, of course, from my own. Whenever I am in a room with him, he calms me. He doesn’t get rattled. His energy is just one that knows. He never judges. He just does his thing. Respects others. Asks very little. And tries to do right by himself and by his son.
Like me, I sense Chris has not really yet allowed himself to live life. This Light stuff can take some getting used to when you’ve told yourself for so long it didn’t exist. This power of creating your own world…it is no small thing for it is very real. This is why so many run from it. As Chris continues to believe that he is in fact deserving of every single positive thing in his world, parts of him are going to come alive that have laid dormant for years.
He is an aspiring photographer. He has been on a farm for a lot of his life, so growing food seems to be a calling. He enjoys music, art and travel. His sense of humor is quick and very witty. When it comes to hands-on problem solving, Chris is extremely resourceful & creative. He has profound insight when he decides to share. And has a network of friends all over the country. I can’t wait to see what areas Chris decides to pursue as more and more opportunities fall into his path. There is no doubt in my mind about the strength of his light. He has empathy & understanding for the experiences of many others out there who just need a break for that necessary change to take place in their life. Chris may end becoming that break for a lot of deserving people who are being missed by a broken system.
I trust Chris with anything in my life. I am incredibly grateful for his friendship and for all he represents in terms of an example of healing and rebalancing. I am most especially appreciative of the opportunity our relationship has been for me to grow in terms of remembering there is only one love. Different energetic connections but only one love connecting us all. Chris has helped me learn that love doesn’t need to be this crazy-ass, four-letter word that we all get stumped on because of labels and definitions and constrictions on what we think it needs to be or not be. I love the way that our two energies connect and hope I provide just a fraction of the positivity in his life that he has brought to mine. I love that he is a part of this as it comes into being. Without this man’s guiding light 4 years ago, I would not be here in this place I am today. Thank you so much, Chris. It really is time to have some fun!
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