“The farmer’s in his den”

A song that so aptly models the eternal human problem

“The farmer’s in his den”

It’s an interesting song, isn’t it?

The farmer always wants more, doesn’t he? And so do the others he forms bonds with. Such is the human condition, to never be satisfied.

“The farmer wants a wife, the wife wants a child, the child wants a nurse…”

The way it ends “we all pat the bone”.

I always thought that was odd.

Philosophical me, can’t help but see the alignment with death.

As in….we spend our life accruing this, that and the other, only to wind up with bones.

The webs we weave, hey?

From the moment we are conceived, we are growing.

First we expand in our own physicality and then our networks grow. Solitary play becomes parallel play becomes co-operative play becomes a need to intensify relationships and establish new ones - to *build our web* - our sense of self and security via community, environment and material goods.

We spend much of our twenties and thirties pandering to FOMO (fear of missing out) - gaining stuff, people, status and ticking boxes, only for later in life to feel hemmed in by the very things we sought to accrue.

What if…….our web - our circle - doesn’t need to be big?

What if………we trap more flies - enjoy things we love - by painting our little old web with honey rather than constantly expanding and complicating it?

What if…….the farmer spent more time concentrating on enjoying his ‘den’ instead of always trying to add others and subsequently make them happy?