A Passion For Service - Meet The Man Named Tree

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(editor's note: As a child of the 60s, I grew up with flower children, communes, free love and all the "historic" movements of the time. Tree is the founder of San Francisco's Free Farm.

Free Farm is an urban cooperative where decisions are made by concensus and staffed by volunteers with the mission to “grow organic produce, foster garden education and build community." http://thefreefarm.org/

This marvelous man embodies quiet service to earth and all her inhabitants. In a rare interview, he shares his philosophy and his dreams.

All my Love, Boo)

 

 

 

Interview: Tree (founder of San Francisco's Free Farm)

 

My secret to not killing myself, or getting really depressed, or going downhill is to be around people who inspire me. So I was talking about these soup kitchens I work in. The poor and the people who are down and out, and especially the people who are like-minded and not trying to follow a career, maybe they're crazy and just beautiful creatures. I work with people like this all the time. They wouldn't fit in, but they're doing beautiful work. They're just shining lights. 

 

    The key here is that when you're doing this kind of work, you're getting something through all these other experiences that excite you. It's not necessarily grandiose or being altruistic. We try to attract those people who are like-minded and we get inspired by the people we end up working with.
 
These are truths that I believe in, but it's a real challenge how to follow a path. You know, karma yoga or selfless service -it's really that. You're not supposed to think about what you get back. It's about just doing it. So it gets a little tricky sharing these things. Most of the time I don't think about what I'm doing. I just follow my passions.