Margrit's Methodology... By Lydia Fraser

"Haste makes work that caution prevents"- William Penn

I come from a family of 'weeders''... My grandmother was one, as was my mother. Both women were extraordinarily patient, with extraordinary gardening skills, and their weeding capabilities were marked with patience and perseverance. Although I'm not here to honour my weeding lineage, I would like to pay homage to Margrit, our local weeder on Magnetic Island. I do not know much about her lineage, but I do remember her telling me that her family would say to her she was 'slow moving'. It is a quality that I love about Margrit. "I'd rather make it slow but do it right", she says.

As a hardworking and highly productive unique individual, her approach to life is one of mildness. We often associate mildness with lack of passion or drive. To me mildness is about 'toning down', filtering outside influences and embodying diligence... its productive value cultivates a gradual development of progressive movement that stabilizes and builds upon solid foundations of foresight.

Modern cultural ideals of productivity are often built upon a stack of cards; deadlines and fast paced rewards, thinking 'quick on your feet' dismisses the decisive quality of contemplation. Contemporary thought on productivity is about pushing, exerting and multi-tasking. The penetrative effect of moving forward too fast often causes over-expansion, a bubble bursting endeavor created by 'too much, too soon '. A balanced result of expansion is a time-honoured process. My mum used to say, 'Everything has its own season'. To force a result, harms the natural creative processes.

The push for expedient results can cause a lack of oversight and create potential errors when implementing ideas before there time. And any gardener will tell you the importance of patiently fostering growth, rather than forcing it. We have been forced into a world where the productive drive has become detrimental to our creativity and our nervous systems. The industrious nature of our present societal system is in dire need of Margrit's methodology.

It is both Margrit and nature that has shown me the art of slowing down. A couple of years ago I would watch an orb spider outside my kitchen window while making my morning coffee. Observing her delicate daily threading was teaching me a state of efficiency that is not associated with fast movement or multi-tasking. Weaving with patience and precision she would meticulously mend the torn fragments of her web, or spin threads around her captured prey. She was an elegant creature of efficacy; her eight eyes were laser focused on the task at hand. Her gentle crafting was an engineering masterpiece built upon focus and attention to detail. Margrit says it's all about 'detail'. The concept of multi -tasking is not something Margrit adheres to, nor does the spider. We can lose the threads of detail by becoming multi-focused.

"Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience"- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Margrit's methodical nature holds a mild steady unassuming power that is associated with those that spend a lot of time in nature. She has a directness about her that is tempered with calmness. Her patience is admirable, and so is her weeding work... I always tell Margrit that her weeding is a noble pursuit. It is beneficial work that often goes unnoticed... That is the best kind of work, this is true service, that does not rely on external validation.

Margrit says she serves nature and volunteer's her time maintaining the delicate balance of weed control while protecting native flora. She wears the 'invisible cloak' of the healthy predator, quietly keeping a watchful eye on life's imbalances. Her territorial domain skirts on the National Park, the coastline, creeks, and estuaries. Working in extreme weather conditions... with attentive perseverance... She is hands on, digging in the dirt, identifying and removing the intrusive invaders.

Classification and the responsible removal of weeds is an important part of Margrit's repertoire. But I must also mention her plant knowledge and gardening skills are exceptional. She has a gnome-like demeanor with mischievous humour, small statured and astute eyes that dart back and forth scanning her environment. I can tell by the glint in her eyes that she would be capable of 'weeding' out bullshit.

If you take a leaf out of Margrit's book you realize when you take time to slow down, it does help you develop an instinct for discernment. Manipulators generally move fast, slowing down is essential in counteracting their covert coerciveness and doublespeak. The word 'mania' is in the word manipulation. Manipulators know how to invoke a type of subtle mania through making another feel pressured or rushed... this creates an overreactive nervous system response (effecting the prefrontal cortex, the decision-making part of the brain) leaving the recipient vulnerable to being controlled by the manipulative tendencies of another. Margrit can’t be controlled; she is steadfast and armed with pragmatic wisdom. The quote "Haste makes work which caution prevents" is true in Margrit's case.

"Take time for all things; great haste makes great waste. Unreasonable haste is the direct road to error. Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast"- William Shakespeare

Movement is slow on Magnetic Island. This pace is ideal for Margrit, and for those who wish to coexist with the natural rhythms of life... the compounding effect of fast movement does not sync with the ethos of the Island lifestyle...The lesson is to lessen. Haste and waste are not welcome here. The driving force of "more" is not the cultural norm. The social conditioning of forcefulness is not a pursuit that is embraced on this land where the clock ticks slower. There is a difference between force and transformational force, the latter serves growth through contemplation and patience, the former may inhibit it, if our decisions are made through the inability to stand back to gain a wider perspective. Maturity widens perception and cultivates patience and so does living on an Island surrounded by nature. I have certainly gained a greater level of patience since living here.

When I first came to the Island I was told by a local that if I don't work with Island time the Island will work against me. This strange piece of wisdom has proven itself to me time and time again... it offered me the freedom to honour how people choose to pace themselves, in their own time. To offer people patience is a gift. And Margrit embodies this virtue as the foundation of her methodology which can be summed up in St Augustine's quote... "Patience is the companion of wisdom".