“Now to cultivate something is to devote one’s attention to it. And we can cultivate something in two ways: either to make what is cultivated better, as we cultivate a field… or to make ourselves better by the cultivating, and in this way we cultivate wisdom.”
Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on the Gospel of St. John
Some can still remember when countless ‘ghettoes’ or other low-income areas were meticulously maintained. Edged lawns, flowers in window boxes, white-washed walls, tidy tool sheds, bikes and toys in good repair. There was a place for everything, and these modest homes and neighborhoods fairly shone with the pride and worldview of the inhabitants.
They didn’t have the money to pay someone to take care of things, and they didn’t need it. These people took care of things themselves.
By nature the human person is a cultivator. He is inclined to devote his attention to things—in order to take care of them. Somehow herein in his identity. But then, we can forget ourselves and forsake this identity. We can also work to rediscover and enact it.
Aquinas makes a characteristically revelatory distinction. ‘Cultivation’ can aim directly at two things: improving what is cultivated (as in cultivating a field), or improving the one cultivating (as in cultivating virtues). Here we should think in terms of an old dictum: distinguish in order to unite. Seeing the real distinction of two kinds of cultivation, we can discover how they can and should come together.
Cultivating fields, and many other such things, is a means also to cultivating the soul. By an amazing and unalterable order, the practice of taking good care of things is a path to become a better person.
The Latin verb ‘to cultivate’ (colere; past participle, cultus) stands at the root of some very important words, such as culture and cult (in the sense of worship). There are varied and beautiful ways that human persons ‘take care’ of things—including other people. And in this taking care, this cultivation, they in fact also take care of themselves. They become more practiced and ready for ever deeper cultivation, and for cult.
As summer comes on, two resolutions might be worth considering. First, we can look with news eyes at the material reality of our home, inside and outside. We can choose to make it an object of cultivation, of intentional care. Perhaps it is repairing, renovating, or beautifying, or simply keeping things more tidy. We might not change the whole neighborhood. But who knows what might start with our well-cared for home, especially by the work of our and our loved ones hands.
Second, we can assume the approach of a craftsman, a cultivator, in all that we do. Not a matter of this or that specific art, at root this is an inner attitude: an approach that can form even the little things. We put things away, do things carefully, make things that will last; we take the extra effort to attend to the details. Because in the end, we are cultivators, not simply of soils, but of souls.
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Husband, father, and professor of Philosophy. LifeCraft springs from one conviction: there is an ancient wisdom about how to live the good life in our homes, with our families; and it is worth our time to hearken to it. Let’s rediscover it together. Learn more.
I drive an old truck that serves both of these purposes. I can’t even count the hours that I’ve spent keeping that thing running. It’s good that it still provides reliable transportation to work. But better is the patience and determination I’ve learned spending four hours trying to replacing spark plug number six. I’m fixing the truck. The truck is fixing me.
I love it, Nathan. That is real patience indeed! May it keep running.
What a wonderful topic, so pertinent to many things happening in my life and around me. I love the word cultivate anyway John and that Thomas Aquinas quote was, as expected, so apt and just so revelatory as you pointed out. I am grateful for this post and for all you do. I hope you and yours are well and healthy.
Dear Cate, Thank you so much, and it is always great to hear from you! We are well in my household, and I pray the same is the case in yours!
Thank you!
Your timing is wonderful! I just picked up “Keeping House: The Litany of Everyday Life” by Margaret Kim Peterson. I also have Theology of Home II: The Spiritual Art of Homemaking on the list but in trying to stay tidy, I try not to overwhelm my home or nightstand with too many books all at once.
And I grew up in a place where men and women took care of the exterior and interior of their homes, and was surprised when I moved out-of-state that most people left the caring of their home, lawn, and yes often their children to people they could barely communicate with. It always seemed odd to me that people could act so proud of something they didn’t tend themselves.
Thank you Jessica! I’m ordering one of these books!
Jessica, you will find many gems in this book. I bought a copy and read it as part of The Woman of the Household course and it encouraged me immensely. It helped me to see home and home life the way that our Creator does and also reinvigorated my love of home and being a home maker. It is also so well written from a theological point of view and she just seems like a genuinely lovely person. Enjoy!
This reminds me so much of the slow methodical way we teach children to care for their environment in the atrium…the space set apart for Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. Even polishing with some oil and cotton ball the olive wood statue of Our Lady can make the space more beautiful…maybe we should display a small vase of flowers by her. And yet…even in my journey as a catechists I have been called OUT of the parish during the pandemic to cultivate my own atrium…my HOME. This is the prepared space where the people in my care can be at leisure with their God. Thank you for writing this.
And thank you, Stephanie, for this very nice reflection. I completely concur.
Thank you John for your insightful thoughts regarding the cultivation of our environments….so true what you expressed.
I am currently a primary care-giver to my girlfriend who has been bed-ridden for the past year due to a stroke. The more order I can maintain in my house and garden…which is a challenge for me, as I have never been an “orderly” person, the greater peace I am able to experience….peace that effectively serves as an antidote to the stress of care-giving.
Sincerely in Christ,
Larry Regalado
Thank you, Larry, for sharing this. That is quite a challenge you face. I hope that are able to find more and more peace, which as St. Augustine says, is the tranquility of order. With prayers for you and your girlfriend.