The oldest continuously working farm in America is tucked into a tiny corner of Virginia in Surry County. Chippokes Plantation, established in 1619, offers so much to the weary soul: a beautiful shoreline along the James River, acres of farm land, an old agricultural equipment museum, miles of walking trails through the forest, and perhaps most importantly, a break from the sounds of the modern world. It is a place with few visitors where you can hear the wind in the trees, the bellowing of cows, and lovely birdsong. Chippokes also offers something that all of us desire every once in a while, a quest. For Henry and I, it was a search for the rarest of natural finds, fossils. For Michelle, it was for something just as hard to find in today’s endlessly connected world, separation and solace.
The first time we went to Chippokes we combed the shore looking for Megalodon teeth. We read they could be found there on occasion and we were confident we would find one! We did not.
Instead, we discovered a number of fossilized clam and scallop shells several million years old. We did not know on this first visit, you’re not supposed to take them from the shoreline! They are awesome to look at but should stay where you discover them we were told later by one of the state park rangers.
When we finished our conversation with the ranger, we walked into the gift shop and found our mantra for the day:
Sometimes I roll my eyes at the wall signs in people’s homes that shout their commands at us like Live, Laugh, Love, or Good Vibes Only, or Laugh More, Worry Less. I know the messages mean well, and I could use the reminder on the daily to do all of these things, but it can feel a little shouty and demanding. The signs give a whole new meaning to if these walls could talk. They really are talking and with exclamation points!!
I say all of this, yet I am an avid collector of words and quotes, and I have notebooks full of inspirational snippets and interesting phrases from things I’ve read or watched. And I have a few talking walls of my own reminding me to Simplify and telling me that Beside the Sea, We Forget to Count the Days, and one that even gives me a long definition of The South which is the place where you drink sweet tea and call Macaroni and Cheese a vegetable and where summer starts in April.
The quotes on our refrigerator are even more dramatic and wise. The walls might be making commands like a drill sergeant, but the refrigerator is like a Zen master whispering truth. One fridge quote says, “Do not fear death so much, but rather the inadequate life.” Another says, “A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest of men.”
Sometimes we need other people’s perfect words to guide the vision we have for our lives, to help us see the truths we want to use to shape our destinies and build our families and futures. Otherwise, we haphazardly careen from day to day and year to year unmoored from belief and principle making it up as we go along.
Giving a name or even a quote to what we value allows us to make decisions that are full of purpose and meaning. This is true for individuals, partners, families, and even for a country.
As we type these words, we are all witnessing the power of the right words at the right time in the right place.
I Need Ammunition, Not a Ride is galvanizing and steadying a nation this very minute. It’s not likely we will see it some day stitched on someone’s decorative pillow, or even on a poster in a gift shop at a state park, but it’s a phrase powerful enough that it might just change the world.