In Sicily, where citrus groves glow under the shadow of Mount Etna and prickly pear cacti dot the landscape, agricultural waste has long been part of the scenery. Each year, more than a million tons of orange peels, pulp, and cactus by-products are left behind—too often discarded, overlooked, or treated as a burden.

Mick McEvoy, manager of the Upper Hamlet Happy Farm in Plum Village in France, is telling The Earth & I about the connection between mindfulness and farming when he uses this somewhat enigmatic expression. It was coined by the Buddhist monk who helped establish Plum Village, Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.

In 1963, an unexpected volcanic eruption off the coast of Iceland changed the shape of the world forever: It created the world’s youngest island, Surtsey, named after a giant in Norse mythology.