Why Knowledge Is Necessary

It's inconceivable that a child could live his whole life on a farm and not understand the plants and animals surrounding him. It's tragic to think that I might be that same person as an adult, unaware of my surroundings and numb to the intricacies of this land I swore to steward. 

As an ignorant, I walk the paths that were worn before I arrived and I see green trees and green grass and green weeds and occasional flowers. I see butterflies and waspy-like creatures and lizards. And that's about it. That's as far as my current knowledge goes. And, that, to me, is inexcusable.

Part of the dream of homesteading and permaculture is, for me, to look out my window to a sea of vegetation I recognize, I planted, and that have a purpose.

With knowledge comes the appreciation of what is, rather than the vague, dull, dimwitted recognition of a color or shape. That is, in my opinion, the mission of the permaculture movement. To turn the dull recognition of blurry shapes into high definition, astute understanding of Nature's intricacies.