Jake Leguee farms in Saskatchewan, Canada, and is member of the Global Farmer Network. Jake maintains his own blog, where he regularly shares insights from the farm. Here is a brief excerpt from his latest entry.
After being so involved, so connected, so deeply motivated to give my best to SaskWheat, to contribute and do my part, for eight years, it was over. It’s kind of like getting on a bus. For awhile, you ride along, getting a feel for it, and you watch a few riders get off at a stop. Eventually, if you’re fortunate enough, you get to drive. Then, faster than you could ever have imagined, it’s your turn to get off. And you watch the bus drive away.
That’s when it hits you: you aren’t needed anymore.
The organization will move on. Someone else will take the wheel. And the bus will carry on, just as it has before. You helped steer it, helped keep it on course, but you were replaceable.
Someday, I will go through much the same experience here on my farm. Someday, God willing, someone from generation four, whether one of my own four sons or one of my nieces or nephews (or a few of them), will step up and take over. And I’ll step off. If I’ve done my job as a leader, the farm will carry on without me – and it will be okay.
It’s the lesson no one tells you about, the one you have to experience for yourself. It’s one of the greatest lessons of them all. This is why term limits are a wonderful thing – eventually, new faces with new ideas need to come forth.
Here is the link to read the rest of Jake’s blog.
