Alice Edwards

I Believe in Compost

I believe in compost: from the peelings and pits collected in the white ceramic jar on my kitchen counter to the beautiful, loamy "black gold" that my neighbor steals from our pile each spring to supplement her garden. I even believe in the gross, gastric, half-decomposed mess that slops around in the bottom of the jar, the stage that offends my kids when they have to dump it outside. I believe in compost so much that it's hard to eat at other people's houses when those coffee grounds and egg shells just go into the trash and my obsessive brain pictures them frozen in some airless landfill ten years hence.

I love the cycle of compost, especially when the old vegetables are from my own pathetic garden; I love the part that feels like cooking when you see the mixture of organic matter that you're putting in; I love watching the birds and chipmunks raid the pile, the virtuous feeling as I put out my small garbage bag on the curb each week, and the fact that I have a practice that momentarily saves me from the guilt and stress of the horrid environmental situation around us.

I believe in the metaphor of compost, too, for my imperfect life - all the bruised parts, the cast-off and old being layered over and left alone to stew itself down into some fertile soil for future plantings: what looks like waste becomes rich and useful. It is a model of compassion: I think, "That was a stupid thing to do" but it is followed by "Oh well, maybe time will make something of it". It's easier to let go of errors, unfinished projects, unpromising relationships, when I can imagine them relegated to the spiritual compost pile. It's also an easy way to gauge if you're really done worrying about things - if you pull out a past mistake or trauma and it's still recognizable, you know to just toss it back in until it breaks down a little more.

I am also well aware that I am living off the accumulated richness of others' leavings and that my life and work - the good and the bad - will fertilize the future. People's footsteps may get washed away, their names forgotten, what they've tried to do pushed aside by other agendas, but I believe the wealth of their - and my - contributions remain, waiting to nourish new blooms on a brighter day.

About Alice Edwards

Dr Alice Edwards, professor of Spanish, chair of the World Languages and Cultures Department and Associate Dean of Art and Humanities has worked at the College for 19 years. Her favorite aspect about Mercyhurst College: "I love its entrepreneurial spirit, its sincere collegiality, and its traditional dedication to beauty and hospitality."