Cell phones, email, TiVo - all the technologies we depend on conspire to diminish our sense of place and time. Thank heaven for Thanksgiving, the holiday that brings us down to earth! As we prepare for this harvest festival, the Farmer's hat reminds us that not everything is virtual and digital. Some things are tangible and temporal.

The Farmer's perspective is one of operating in sync with nature and natural laws. Wearing this hat, we know that the tomatoes won't ripen until July no matter when we put the plants in. From this point of view, we understand that we need to cultivate the soil, or nothing will grow well.

Reach for the Farmer's hat when:

• You're trying to rush something into bearing fruit, when it may need time to develop roots underground.
• You're seeing projects -- and even people -- as objects to managed and maneuvered, instead of as living, growing entities.
• You're trying to control it all, when you need to remember that not everything is in your control.
• You feel like you are fighting to make things happen or your environment isn't supporting the results you really want.

Compared to a century ago, very few people today are fulltime farmers. Yet the more speeded up and stressed out we become, the more we need the wisdom that tells us that we and our work are deeply entwined with our environment. The more time we spend in front of screens, the more we need the deep refreshment of seasonal change and variety. The more we strive to do too many things at once, the more we need to discern, what is it time for?

It may be time to be grounded and grateful.

Whatever your tradition, wherever you call home, Happy Thanksgiving!

1. Define containers for the top roles you play. Too often we allow our roles to smear together which allows plenty of room for weeds. Start by identifying those roles that are most important and that would benefit from intentional gardening. The container is defined by purpose (what am I seeking to create in this role) and time (how many hours a week do I want/need to devote to this purpose?) My favorite hats for this task include the captain's hat and the royal crown
2. Transplant only the important things first. Now that you've defined your containers, it is time to make some decisions about what to put in it. Some find it useful to don the surgeon's cap or the detectives hat at this stage to help keep the "shoulds" out of the picture.
3. Farm one container at a time. Lots of stress and dropped balls happen in the juggling act otherwise known as multitasking. Strap on the mountain climber's hat or the miner's hat to help keep focus on the task at hand.
4. Celebrate progress. Put on the beanie or artist's beret to help savor each stage for what it is instead of dwelling on how far away from the ultimate objective it is. Have you ever rejoiced in uncovering a gorgeous plant after an hour of weeding or do you tend to be frustrated with the weeds that remain? Put on the party hat or graduation hat and celebrate what you've accomplished.

"A wish is a desire without an attempt." Farmer's Digest

"To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under the sun. A time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill and a time to heal ... a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance ... a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to lose and a time to seek; a time to rend and a time to sew; a time to keep silent and a time to speak; a time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace." Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

"The past is our definition. We may strive, with good reason, to escape it, or to escape what is bad in it, but we will escape it only by adding something better to it." Wendell Berry, Kentucky farmer, writer, activist