Cultivate

Masanobu Fukuoka wrote in 1975 that “the ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings”. I believe this statement to be applicable to any craft.

We grow businesses and skills for our own cultivation, and thus for the sake of our species. It’s the universal mission of any organization.

Failing to answer this ominous call is the death of the soul. This is why so many die soon after retiring, and also, as Thoreau puts it, why “the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”

The only way forward is to become a tad better today than we were yesterday. There are many ways to do that: read a book, write a few words, comfort a friend, cook a good meal… the opportunities are everywhere, we only have to remind ourselves. 

Even if we cannot be better, we should at least try not to regress by giving in our worst impulses: lust, anger, greed, and envy. If you can’t choose virtue, moral and civic excellence, at least do not fall to vice.

He who cultivates himself can cultivate others, and he who cultivates others is akin to a sun. This is the path to transcendence.