As I travelled through America’s heartland this weekend while trying to keep my shit together for this life change, I realized, few are able to step outside and hear hens clucking contentedly and cattle lowing in the field. Nor are they able to walk to the garden and pull up fresh carrots, harvest succulent apples or pick tomatoes from the vine. This way of life is rapidly disappearing.

Gone for most are the times when farmers would work together with their families to feed or milk the cows or harvest the year’s crop. Gone are the days when youngsters, after finishing their chores, could run down to the pond and spend an idyllic hour watching the turtles or listening to the song birds while looking out over acres of fields. Going are the evening meals where families recount the day’s accomplishments.

A class of society is being lost, and with it, iconic barns and sprawling rural landscapes are fading at an alarming rate. The concept of a small family farm, has been all but destroyed. I did some research while reposing after driving through a snowstorm, (yes that’s relaxing to me), in Colorado alone, nearly 700 acres of farmland are lost to development every day. E V E R Y day!

A prosperous society does not hinge on acquiring gadgets, vehicles or luxury items. Rather, a significant indicator of a healthy society is the stability of being able to provide Maslow’s needs to that society.

As small farms vanish from the countryside, I see with them disappearing one of the best environments capable of producing strong, character-driven humans. What better place to channel a childs boundless energy. I don’t remember one farm kid in school who was ever on medication for depression or adhd.

For adults, farm life surely provides a slower pace, with time to be still and think. Built into the occupation is a healthier diet and workout routine. No wonder so many “hobby farm” aging adults are aging so well. While the shift from agrarian to industrial society has provided many modern benefits, society has inadvertently lost some strong focus on moral character, integrity and work ethic from the person who learns a trade or takes on the family farm.

Continuing education should be an option for any who seek it, but I feel as a society we need to better support those who work the fields and fix our machines. I long for the day when cattle can feed in large unpolluted pastures. Bees can polinate naturally and theyll be no need for pesticides. Where weather conditions can provide bumper crops, with continuous surpluses of food to share with the world. In my society, there would be peace, with weapons of war converted to farm implements and humans wouldn’t have to rely on escapism in any form to be happy. Utopian? Perhaps.