A funny individual unique snowflake

Last night I was coming home from a meeting, and stopped at Costco to pick up a few things. The checkout line I chose was short, my item list was small and I thought I’d just sneak out fast. As I handed my card to the checkout clerk he asked if I was in a hurry. I said no. He said he needed to closeout and said Ingrid, standing next to him would help me. I asked Ingrid how she was today and she replied “I’m a funny individual unique snowflake”. “Great answer” I replied.  She proceeded to ring up my items , while I wrote down what she had said. On the way to the car I thought about the grander vision, and how we are all individual unique snowflakes.

It is said that every snowflake has it’s own individual shape, just as people have individual fingerprints. However, when it snows it is hard to see the individual flakes for the larger amount of white that is drifting down from the clouds. Walk down a busy street in New York City and you have a vision of a sea of humanity. Drop into a coffee shop and the mass become individuals again.

At the Worm Farm, we have between five and six million worms, all with their own individual DNA; they are their own unique snowflakes. Working together they combine in a selfless way to make VermiCompost that improves the soil, helps gardens grow better food, and produce larger harvests. I’ve always been surprised when I hear the phrase ‘the lowly worm’. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our little selfless friend tills the soil, increases soil biology and leaves behind his casts to add fertility to those very soils.

In America we prize the lone individual, the John Wayne cowboy prototype who stands out in his rugged individualistic way. There is, however, another way. Imagine if people could be more like the selfless worms, and work together to make the world a better place. We have some big challenges to overcome in this country; creating more jobs, growing better food locally, immigration, racism, pollution and a host of others. John Lennon imagined a better world and I do too. I see the power of selfless teamwork every day at the Worm Farm.

The world is full of funny individual unique snowflakes. One snowflake is beautiful, but a snowfall is something to behold.

Come with us and ‘Join the Underground movement’.