She’s been featured on the cover of Vogue and Cosmopolitan, nominated for Golden Globes for best acting in the wildly popular mini-series The Thorn Birds as well as in the motion picture Sharky’s Machine for New Star of the Year. However, Rachel Ward’s next cover shot will probably be for a holistic farming magazine or conservation publication. She’s a regenerative farmer and is producing a documentary about her cattle farm called Standing On The Soilution.
When Rachel and her husband, the Australian actor Bryan Brown, bought their cattle farm in eastern Australia 33 years ago it was run by farm managers. However, after the devastating bushfires that swept across Australia in 2019 and beyond, Rachel had a change of heart and became a hands-on farmer. Having recently become a grandmother, she became alarmed at the amount of chemicals used in modern farming. With the urging of her farm manager, they joined forces turned to regenerative farming practices. No chemicals. Farming the old way.
TEASER TO STANDING ON THE SOILUTION:
https://vimeo.com/516531797?embedded=true&source=vimeo_logo&owner=13295571
RACHEL'S FARM IN AUSTRALIA:
https://www.thegoodfarm.shop/
Rachel is currently co-producing a documentary about the difficulties of embracing regenerative farming on her farm, called Standing on the Soilution. The film documents Rachel in her efforts to start a revolution to saving the planet.
She’s been featured on the cover of Vogue and Cosmopolitan, nominated for Golden Globes for best acting in the wildly popular mini-series The Thorn Birds as well as in the motion picture Sharky’s Machine for New Star of the Year. However, Rachel Ward’s next cover shot will probably be for a holistic farming magazine or conservation publication. She’s a regenerative farmer and is producing a documentary about her cattle farm called Standing On The Soilution.
When Rachel and her husband, the Australian actor Bryan Brown, bought their cattle farm in eastern Australia 33 years ago it was run by farm managers. However, after the devastating bushfires that swept across Australia in 2019 and beyond, Rachel had a change of heart and became a hands-on farmer. Having recently become a grandmother, she became alarmed at the amount of chemicals used in modern farming. With the urging of her farm manager, they joined forces turned to regenerative farming practices. No chemicals. Farming the old way.
TEASER TO STANDING ON THE SOILUTION:
https://vimeo.com/516531797?embedded=true&source=vimeo_logo&owner=13295571
RACHEL'S FARM IN AUSTRALIA:
https://www.thegoodfarm.shop/
Rachel is currently co-producing a documentary about the difficulties of embracing regenerative farming on her farm, called Standing on the Soilution. The film documents Rachel in her efforts to start a revolution to saving the planet.
Following is a conversation with Rachel Ward, English-Australian actress, film director, screenwriter and now cattle farmer where I spoke to her from her farm in eastern Australia. Tools For Nomads is sponsored by Topdrawer. Topdrawer's mission is to make durable, sustainable tools for creatives who work to make the world better. To be transparent here I fell in love with the topdrawer brand when they asked me to do a Mount Everest presentation for them in 2017 at their annual meeting in Boston. Topdrawer curates and makes sustainable and durable tools for travel writing. The bag they gave me goes on every single trip with me bar none I love it. From pens to Japanese how shoes to journals with finely crafted paper bags, eyewear, handkerchiefs, bento boxes, lighters and key chains. Check them out at topdrawershop.com or visit one of their dozen plus meticulously outfitted shops in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Berkeley, Chicago, and Tokyo. Topdrawershop.com. I'm Thom Pollard from early on, I wanted to squeeze as much as I could from life by looking for adventures all over the world. As a documentary filmmaker, I basically became a professional adventurer for expeditions to Mount Everest got to the top and 2016 under a full Buddha moon. I helped build an ancient styled ship made of two and a half million reads and sailed it 3000 miles to Easter Island, from the coast of Chile. All these adventures were really a way for me to meet fascinating and passionate people. These people are everywhere you go in small villages in remote corners of Nepal, bustling cities in Bolivia, sometimes your next door neighbor, and tools for nomads. I'm going to introduce you to some of these people nomads like me who are driven by creativity and their passion for discovering the answers to life's big questions. Try to listen to this episode and have it not affect the way you think the next time you go to the supermarket for groceries. I hope in a good way. I'm a glass half full kind of guy. I prefer to spend time with people who see a silver lining in every cloud. I listen to people who tell me stories of hope and potential within the setbacks of their lives. Have a nose we all have a few. Today's guest understands rising and falling. She's an actor and a film director and now a farmer in the 1980s. She gained international fame when she starred in a 10 hour us mini series on the best selling Australian saga written by Colleen McCullough. The Thorn Birds, Cornwall, England born Rachel Ward became a household name going on to star in successful Hollywood films like against all odds. She married a fellow actor and she met while filming The Thorn Birds, Australia's Brian Brown. She migrated to Australia. That's a long way from home and they raised a family and now our grandparents. While Rachel's been featured on the cover of Vogue and cosmopolitan her next cover shot will probably be for a holistic farming or conservation magazine. 33 years ago, she and Brian bought their farm in Australia 350 hectares, which to me is about 1000 acres where they raised cattle. Until recently the farm was managed by others. But when the Australian bushfires swept across the continent, devastating 1000s and 1000s of acres, destroying properties, human lives and taking the lives of countless wildlife. I read some estimate that over a billion animals and birds lost their lives in the fires. Rachel had a bit of an epiphany and wanted to embrace regenerative farming on her farm. And she's producing a film about that it's called standing on the soil Lucian with the ever talented documentary filmmaker, Bettina Dalton, who, by the way, introduced me to Rachel, after my episode with Valerie Taylor for tools for nomads, which I hope you've heard, Tina also produced Valerie's film playing with sharks. So what is regenerative farming? Think about it as holistic indigenous farming the way it was done hundreds of years ago, if not 1000s of years ago without the use of chemicals, which kill virtually everything, not only the weeds and bugs that they're intended for Like the herbicide glyphosate, it's applied to the leaves of plants to kill them. You've probably heard of Monsanto's Roundup, these herbicides have been classified as probable human carcinogens by the world's leading cancer authority. In the teaser to the film standing on the soil, Lucian, Rachel proclaims that there must be a better way to farm. And then she says around the world, and in Australia there is it's called regenerative farming. And she's going to see in this film, if it says game changing as it promises to be, and she wants to meet the farmers trying to start a revolution. Here's my conversation with Rachel Ward. Hi, Rachel, thank you, I really enjoyed the teaser of the film to standing on the soy illusion, it's really cool that you are one of the stewards of the topic. I'm an example of someone who's having a go, who's gone, I cannot sit on the fence any longer. I'm you know, we must jump in.
Rachel Ward:We must, you know, we must sustainability is not enough. We have to, we have to start regenerating. We have to start in, you know, phasing out plastics, chemicals, whatever. And we have to get so serious about this, this this subject. One of the things they say about regenerative farming is that you have to change the paddock between your ears. So it's in that's a really hard thing to do. You know, how do you not increase consumption? You know, how do you move forward without consuming? How do you? How does anybody progress in an area where they necessarily have to consume for their jobs? I mean, I'm just setting up an Airbnb, and I have to bet get things for that place, you know, and I'm, it's a toss up between, do I make this work? Or how do I do it so that I don't use more plastic, you know, buy more mattresses, whatever. So it's a constant balancing act, isn't it? Anyway, I digress, Get back, get me back.
Thom Pollard:That well, that was a very good digress, because it was actually deep into the heart of the matter of the big picture of our existence on this planet. And it was easy. Not that life is ever easy, per se. But we didn't really have to worry about micro plastics in the oceans, or 90% of the sharks being hunted out of the oceans, which is just an indication of all the fish being fished out of the oceans of all the the rainforest being burned down to make room for cattle for 99 cent hamburgers at McDonald's. And and it mattered in a way but but it was off the radar. And suddenly we're starting to get these warning signs, these dire warning signs. And it's time on an individual level. And even on the smaller level to make changes. And you have been farming for decades, I believe. And, and something made you shift can tell what was your moments or epiphany, if you will, that said, Oh my gosh, I've that we can't keep doing this the way we used to?
Rachel Ward:Well, it's funny, isn't it your little wakeups that you have, I mean, of course, there was so many things that were shaking me and waking me and perturbing me and actually sort of leading me to an existential crisis, which I basically had a sort of major meltdown after the fires in Australia. And, you know, I think that one of the silver linings of this terrible fire that we had here was I think it did wake up a lot of people. And I was certainly one of them because I was one of the early early areas to get hit. And I was my farm was consumed with fire. So I was one of the first one because it really got raging in in 20, beginning of 2019. So when they hit here, I was sort of just curious, I was just, you know, I was coming back from the beach, and I suddenly saw this, you know, this sort of extraordinary black cloud over the horizon. And I was basically going for a sticky beak, you know, just over quite close to me and I just went Ah, there's a terrible fire over there. Maybe a tankers exploded or something like that. Anyway, of course, as I got closer and closer, it became evident that the whole mountain was on fire. And there were sort of people racing around and there was this sort of very very eerie wind that was blowing and the sort of incredible sort of silence of no birds, or the birds had gone. But you just saw this apocalyptic scene of the fire approaching. And I still was, you know, I was about five kilometers away, and I went out, it'll burn itself out here. As I was returning, I saw I kept seeing the fire bombs, you know, the, the, the, the, the fire sends out these sort of, well, they're sort of fireballs, they call them. And a fireball hit my back road as I was going home and I and I saw it catch fire. And I raced back to the to the farmers who were on the road, you know, basically ushering people out of the area. And I raced up and said, you know, the road to Taylor's arm is now on fire. And they said, Madam, there is nothing we can do about it, just get out of the way. And, you know, as I went up that that road back up that road, it had already moved so far ahead. That there were, you know, there were people on the road with sort of tragic little hoses that they were sort of trying to put out the fires started leapt across the road. And you just saw the futility of their efforts as the fire just took hold. And yeah, I came racing back to my farm. And I basically got my pathetic little hose and I watered all the gutters, I I wet all the gauges, I put the hose up on the roof. I put the sprinklers on on the lawn. But again, mine was sort of pathetically futile, really, to what was coming? And yes, I saw it. Suddenly, I saw it raging now behind the farm, and that, you know, these flickers of red, but just this sort of powerful smoke this extraordinary churning blackness of the smoke. And I rang my husband and I said, who was in Sydney? And I said, I don't think we'll have a farm by the morning. And, and, I mean, he just said, Get out of there, get out of there. And so that's what I did is I wet everything I could. And then I didn't even take anything because I couldn't begin to sort of go what is more precious than anything else? Honestly, I can't even imagine it sounds like a complete nightmare. It was like hell, it was like you'd gone down into some hellish place. And you just felt it was very shocking. It was shocking for the damage it had done. It was shocking for the trees. I mean, I went for a walk around the perimeter of the of the property. And I could hear in the forest, just this crash, crash crash as the trees that have been burned over the last few days just gave up and fell. And just the smoldering that was was continuing. And you just, again, this silence apart from the crashing of the trees, this there was just nothing there. It was eerie. It was it was like the end of the world. What can you say? So if you're not moved by that to do something? What can I you move by? Yeah, so it was really after that. And it was really after having grandchild my first grandchild, actually, that I just woke up to what the hell can we do more? And the miracle was that actually I could do a lot. It sounds like that view into Armageddon really woke you up, I can't even imagine. But then after the fires dwindled down and went away, it sounds like you did a deeper dive into looking at what the use of chemicals for farming was doing, not only to the top soil, but the long term effects on human health. Because the introduction of so many chemicals and pesticides over the decades and decades of modern farming has really gotten into everything. So is that right? They call it a novel entities, which is really chemical pollution. And we now have three 350,000 different chemicals in, in our world to you to use. And we have the plastic production has increased by 79%. Since they started doing that, you know, started itemizing started recording what the changes that were the planetary boundaries. So it's just not good enough to sustainability is no longer good enough. We need regenerative practices. And if we don't, if we keep on crossing those boundaries, we are so much on a route to self termination. It's It's, uh you know, how many times can we be told that how much more evidence do we need how many more people that are doing these records? and data how much more do we need to recognize this? There you go, there's my spiel. And that's why my husband would have moved to an to another room 20 minutes ago by now and
Thom Pollard:you spared him Did you say why don't you go take a walk right now because I'm about to go off?
Rachel Ward:look, he's not here. He's actually not here but and he's, he's very much a city fella. So it was really me and my farm manager. And I credit him with coming to me and saying I really want to try this it's not what he said it's not working the way we're farming is not working inputs are too high. And you know, we are completely at the mercy of these changing these huge degrees of change, whether it be drought or, or floods, which we have constantly, you know, drought, flood, drought, right flow, flood, and we just can't keep up with the, with the extremes of climate and, and the expense of the inputs. And the and because food is so low, the price of food is too low. We are just spending on too much stuff and not spending on the right kind of food and not encouraging the right kind of food.
Thom Pollard:You're listening to my interview with Rachel Ward, English, Australian multiple Golden Globe nominated actress, film director, screenwriter, and now cattle farmer. We're talking about a recent epiphany after the Australian bushfires of 2019 to switch her farm to a regenerative farm.
Rachel Ward:You know, we can do it, we can do it. Um, it just somehow needs people. You know, I think that's why regenerative farming is so exciting because there is it's very hopeful, and it's very doable. And people are getting on board. And it's not and it's not hard. And it's fabulous to do it. It's a great experience to start working with nature and walking side by side with nature. And there is answers to every problem at the moment. We have so much rain here we've had a summer of unrelenting rain and floods. And the grass is way over my head. We have this grass called soteria. And it's a really quick growing grass and it goes to seed very quickly. So you know, so our fences get, we have now electric fences. And we have now moved from 30 paddocks to 90 paddocks. So you can imagine how many, you know little electric fences we have and we have to slash the for the fences because electricity doesn't doesn't work unless you have the garage, the wet grass grounds the electricity. So, you know, most people would be just spraying chemicals under those fences, you know, and just dealing with it and you deal with it, the beginning of summer and everything dies under the fence and job done. But you know, what are you doing? What are you doing underneath those fences? What are you killing? What habit? Are you perpetuating? You know, if you use a chemical there are you going to use the Kemaman like my next door farmer, my ex farm manager sprays out his field field with glyphosate. Before he then before he plants seed before he he direct drills his seed in but he completely annihilates his fields before he does. And he and he grows this grass, monocultural grasses and he has fat cattle and he sells fat cattle but he is you know, he is he he will go under because of the amount that he spends getting those cattle fat. So he sprays he plants, he sprays with water, you know, he has to irrigate his fields as well to get it to grow. And you know, yes, he goes to the cattle yards and people pat him on the back the size of his cars and the amount of money he gets for his cars. But it isn't the way forward it's it's it's leading to a dead end. I cattle may not be as you know, ridiculously fat as their cattle but they don't need to be you know, they don't need to be and you know we've got a very distorted view now I think of of how, how big have fat out everything everything needs to be no cattle don't need to be that big to have to have a great taste of your cattle on grass fed finished cattle. You don't need to have these monster cows that had stuffed with grain in feedlots. You can chemicals. Yeah, do it with nature, just what nature provides. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, you do some talking?
Thom Pollard:Well, it's a conscious decision and it's easier to not do anything you had sent me into this this realm, you said, look up this, this person and that person. And here's a couple of individuals to research before you speak with me and, and I looked them all up and I spent hours and hours watching videos go My gosh. So you you've said one guy to look up is Charles Massey, and he talks about regenitive agriculture.
Rachel Ward:goosebumps when you say his name, when you say his name, I have a physical reaction isn't that bizarre, because I think he's, you know, and people like him, are just offering so much hope they are the heroes of today. And they are such, they are individuals, they're so brave, because they started a long time ago. And they started without any precedent really, and they just recognize what was going on. They're smart, smart guys, and they smart farmers. And they recognize what was happening. And they heard whispers of this other way of farming, because it's been going on now for 4050 years, you know, people have been doing it. Allan Savory started a long time in, in, in, in Zimbabwe. And, you know, the so that, what do they call the early adopters, they call them and they are just doing it without any road without any blueprints at all. They are just, you know, having a go failing, having another go failing. And finally getting to a point where this works, you know, I am up and running just without inputs and working with nature. And there, I mean, his book called The reed warbler was one of those books. I never had a teacher that changed my life. But I hadn't really ever read a book that changed my life. But this book changed my life, I read it, I could not put it down. And I just read it with such hopefulness because he was so smart. And he was he was answering all the psychological issues, too, that were blocking people from going this way. You know, he talked about humanity and our resistance to change. And he talked about the kind of people that were more open to change than others. And he, yeah, he put that in historical context. So you could see how change had happened throughout the world towards, you know, obviously a civilizing society. And you could see that it was always the early adopters that made the changes that have well, you know, it's very hard to say that a brought us to the civilized point now, because obviously, it's deeply uncivilized position now that we're at, because we're destroying ourselves. It's been it's very hard, you know, we have a culture of in Australia, of our, our wealth is has come from the sheep's back. So our wealth has been established before even before mining on with the farmer, the farmer bought us riches here, you know, that farmers develop this country. So, you know, they are like those sacrosanct sank people that you cannot criticize, you know, I mean, luckily, my farm manager woke me up younger than me. He's, he was reading, you know, his influence was different. He was on the land, he was looking for answers, he realized that it wasn't viable, anything was viable. And he said, I'm going to change my practice to regenerative practices do you want to do you want to come with me? So we joined our herds, and we are now farming together. And we are now what's called doing what's called sell grazing, which is you, you break up your paddocks into smaller entities and you move your cattle around like a wild herd, like like a Wild Herd would move. So you have dense, you have much denser herds. So they move our cattle move daily. In the summertime, sometimes they move twice daily, but it's easy peasy. It's just a question of opening a gate. Yeah. So it's, you know, and some people that isn't, doesn't suit them. But does it really suit them going, you know, plowing their fields, but spraying their fields, we don't have to do any of that. In the end, we want to be lazy farmers. We are aiming towards being lazy farmers and letting the sunlight and the cattle do everything nature do everything for us. So Rachel for the benefit of the listener, the idea of moving a herd, from cell to cell or paddock to paddock, it allows the grass to fully regrow right before moving the cattle back into that area again, where they're of course going to eat all that fresh grass. In being in fully growing it is using the photosynthesis to pull the carb or excess carbon out of the atmosphere and back down into the ground. And this is what we've lost of course by a huge Soil losses and degeneration is our soil has blown away, I'm I've built carbon in my soil, building carbon in your soil allows you to hold water in the soil. And of course brings down you know, encourages nutrients and all this all the nutrients actually that are in the atmosphere that actually then come down, or the minerals that come down into the soil through photosynthesis. And that whole very simple process, you know, send the photosensors sends sugars down, and then the microbes in the soil turns the sugars into carbon. I think I've definitely missed some scientific link there. But essentially, that's what happens. Wow. So it's a win win win all round. But it is hard to change, you know, it's hard to get your head around, it's hard to take that first step. I mean, as a as, as, as a woman, and in this world, you know, I've had to change careers, three or four times now. And it's hard to suddenly go, Okay, I've left that behind, I'm going to have to step out, and I'm going to have to change everything, I'm gonna have to re educate myself and start again. But you know, that when it's urgent, it as easy as it is, we have to, yeah, we have to, yeah,
Thom Pollard:Rachel. So you know, I mean, a lot of people I'm, you know, I was born in 1961, I love to work and I there's something that was born into me, I don't know if my mom or dad had it in their genes or something, but I just can't see letting time go by without pursuing something I'm passionate about. And, and you know, and you've had a successful careers and, and now in, in this farming genre, and melding together the documentary realm, which is really exciting. You are you, you have every right to relax right now. And you are on full tilt. And this is beautiful. And this is what gives people like me a lot of hope, and belief that there is a reason to be confident and positive about good change happening. Because your people like you are out there going, You know what, no, I'm not gonna just sit by and hope somebody else does it. You're doing it and it was it born India, was it your mom, your dad, a grandparent, like who, who inspired you?
Rachel Ward:I'm lucky, I'm lucky that I actually was able to be to become empowered to do something. Because I had a farm, you know, how to farm. And, you know, that was all set in motion, I think. Do it. You know, we're making The Thorn Birds all those years ago, I sort of fell in love with I mean, I did grow up on a farm. So I had it in me. I grew up in the country. And although my father didn't actually farm, I was surrounded by other farmers. And we actually, we were in cropping and sheep country. And, but then I moved away from that as soon as I could, you know, it was a sort of like that useful thing that rushed to the city to know you wanted to be with a lot of other people you want to, you know, feel like you don't want to feel like you've stuck on a farm.
Thom Pollard:And now look at you!
Rachel Ward:If only I'd known I'd have stayed there.
Thom Pollard:So what can people actually do? It seems like a huge problem. And how can one individual actually affect some element of change?
Rachel Ward:Everybody has everybody buys food. And that is the most empowering thing you can do. If you are more conscious about what what food you buy, and where it's come from, that is where the big change will happen. We also have a paddock to plate business that I do with my daughter. So we are now bypassing retailers who are not moving fast enough and who are not on this regen bandwagon have not understood that is not enough to be organic, sustainable, we need to be regenerating. So we are now offering regenerative meat directly to customers. You know, the more that customers demand it, the more it will happen. I mean retailers are just responding, obviously responding to demand. So the more we make a fuss about when we go into a restaurant and we say excuse me, is that? Is that a happy pig? Does that come from industrial farms? Or is that pig? Is that bacon from a natural farm? Is that grown outside? Is it healthy? Or is it grown in a concrete block with 1000s of other pig held in birthing cages? It's the best it's the most it's the most powerful thing you can do is to change farmers is to change the way we farm and to change the way we eat and to demand that we do not our food is not full of chemicals until more and more people go That's enough. I you know, I have to write I have to march I have to You know, I have to shake it up,
Thom Pollard:Rachel, that's, that's incredible. I'm, I'm inspired. And the best part of this story, if you could sum it up is it's there's a tragedy that's, that's unfolding. But there's a lot of hope. And you've had you ended this and moved it into this direction of hopefulness and possibilities. And I would imagine that in that, that on its own is, would would, would I be making an assumption to say that that's what inspires you and, and get you out of bed in the morning? That, that you're making a difference? Is? Is it listening to other people? Yeah,
Rachel Ward:Absolutely. Its purpose. And, you know, I'm 64, I thought, you know, my life would be I was scared of it winding down, because I don't feel like it should be winding down. So to find something that I can be so actively engaged in and move out of the film industry, which was the most, you know, incredibly frustrating place to be. So, you know, it's, that's fabulous. But it's also it's, it's inhabited by this whole world, and people are onto this are so inspired themselves. And it's a it is a community of people who have like minded people who are actually getting out there and, and, and, and making a difference. It's to me, it's a no brainer, but it is it is about changing the paddock between your ears, it is about having conscious of all of those choices you make in your life. And can we do this without chemicals? Yes, we can do it with Yes, we can do it without chemicals. Yes, we can feed the world without chemicals. So I do feel you know, and I like that I'm producing. I'm producing food, that is debt is good for people that is healthy for people that is got as much in it that nature can naturally provide.
Thom Pollard:Rachel Yeah, you you now that the earth is like this, this this system, and everything we do does have an impact and, and it matters how one individual chooses to walk forward and step on the planet, whether it's gently or with care, as a steward of the future, or just conscious without any consciousness whatsoever. And, you know, part of that, and I want to ask you about, you know, what all of us are born, you know, with dreams and ideas, and there are many young people who grow old, never having achieved their dreams and the things that they they loved as a child. And so, you, you now you've done this, you've you've, you've achieved dreams, and I'm sure there are many that you never went after, but some that you have. And so to it to a person listening, whether they're 15 years old, or 35 and kicking ass in Wall Street, thinking they made it, what do you say to people? Like, what can they do? You know, just to be confident to go after their dreams? Is there any kind of nugget of wisdom in there?
Rachel Ward:Seems like I've achieved my dreams. I mean, not really, I mean, you know, I feel more fulfilled and more purposeful now, because I feel that whatever I do, it's for I'm convinced it's the right thing to be doing. And that is an excellent worthwhile thing to be doing. It's contributing to, it's leaving a positive contribution, rather than a negative contribution. And, you know, in the entertainment industry, I didn't think I was leaving a negative contribution, particularly. But it was a incredibly frustrating and time wasting occupation to be involved in so much time of unemployment, so much frustration of trying to get projects up and running and, and so much external things that you couldn't control the art of your control. So I wouldn't say I fulfilled my dreams in that space. I did, I had a couple of great projects that, you know, made me a reasonable amount of money early on, and that sort of sustained me from then on. But now moving to another country, being a migrant, that all carries enormous difficulties and struggles and I would say that life is an I'm somebody who's, I think probably feels deeply reacts over sensitively to things and I've definitely had my struggles and I think that there's no point believing that life isn't full of that. If course it is part that's part of life and to believe that you're actually just going to be that fulfill your dreams. You know, in the end, you hope you go there are little moments where, where you've had little miracles, and but, you know, most of the time we're struggling, most of the time everybody's struggling and to pretend otherwise, that there are some people out there who have this miracle life where they're not struggling is, I think, really dangerous. And I think, you know, obviously our media never stops promoting these people who seem to have these sort of idealistic lives and it's so dangerous and so it's so crushing for anybody else out there who is struggling day to day. And I think it's a comfort that everybody's struggling, you know, my life looks on the surface. And at the moment, it's very good because, you know, arrived at a place later on in life where I have been through my struggles, and I've been through and I got to a place where I can wake up every day and feel purpose if I've just got a new bit of biodiversity in my paddock. And I'm and I, and I don't have grand, grand ideas, you know, I don't have grand dreams, my dreams are small, and they're very possible to to attain, you know, if I see a different kind of bird on my property, I go, that is that's as good as it gets.
Thom Pollard:Rachel's film is standing on the soil Lucian, a feature documentary brought to you by wild bear entertainment. In association with Newtown films, I will provide a link in the show notes to the teaser for standing on the soil illusion. It's slated for theatrical release in Australia in October of this year. Stay tuned. For those of you in the United States and elsewhere, the theatrical event releases will be coming soon after. Thanks for visiting tools for nomads a look into the lives and habits of fascinating and creative people like Rachel Ward. Tools for nomads is brought to you buy topdrawer. At topdrawer nomadism isn't simply about being on the move. It's about loving and living life where the things we carry directly impact our productivity, our well being and even our identity. Top drawer combines the quality and craftsmanship of our grandparents generation with the drive for independence, function, and stylish sustainability. It all results in a collection of tools curated from around the world that help you do your best work wherever you are. Visit top Charles shop.com or visit one of their dozen plus meticulously outfitted shops in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Berkeley, and Tokyo. Top draw shop.com Thanks for visiting. See you next time on tools for nomads.