A tiny sunflower is blooming in a large container where a gardenia calls home. It found its way there via a bird or squirrel who either mistakenly dropped it or has a love for gardening and flowers.
As I sit on the back porch, in my hammock swing, I look at the struggling sunflower and can’t help but think of the saying, ‘Bloom where you are planted.’
My friend has chosen to work in Iraq and I chose to move back to the Gulf Coast. Both of us felt a call to our chosen destination without knowing how our talents would be used or how we would make a difference; yet, each of us is finding ways to bring positive energy to where we are planted.
Like the little sunflower, all of us might be lucky enough to escape the equivalent of a trip through the digestive system of a bird or squirrel (with any luck at all) and find fertile soil in which to live, move and have our being. In reality, the world is our garden. Anywhere we find ourselves gives the opportunity to serve and shine a little light.
With proper nourishment and support we all might grow into our potential…and bless the world.
My two darlings are delighted that two large hanging planters are growing their favorite treat. These bountiful baskets have become the focus of much attention from my feline friends.
Stanley Kubrick after his indulgence in the wicked weed
My ginger cat makes no excuses and could care less what others think of his fondness for catnip. And yet he requests that I hold the fresh, aromatic leaf so he can nimbly bite and lick it until a bird flutters by the screen porch or a squirrel barks in protest. Then he’s gone in a puff of orange and white fur. Stanley is a recreational user.
Gracie anxiously awaits more ‘product’….Thinking CNA (Cat Nip Anonymous) might be called in for an intervention
The hard core addict is my shy girl. Any time I walk out the back door, she is now on my heels and eager to have another…another…another. She consumes huge leaves, stems and I’ve wondered what would happen if I smeared fresh juice on her orange brother. So far I cannot convince him to participate in my science experiment. Her normal behavior is to get up to sleep more. With an occasional break to eat, get brushed, and contemplate more cat napping. They say addicts will do anything for another fix. Reminds me of the search for fossil fuels….hmmm.
At this rate I’ll have to create more baskets of herbal delight to keep up with the demand. My courtyard might become as famous as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. But it was also the only wonder that might have been purely legendary. Maybe their grew catnip, too.
This morning found me once again in the new garden–the task was mulching. It wasn’t difficult. It was just repetitive and like the grass removal, the effort gave me time to reflect. During my working meditation the same ideas I wrote about yesterday surfaced and continued to give me tid bits to ponder.
Yesterday I realized that many of us find our value from things we do for others or in our jobs. We might even assign ourselves a task for helping our spouse or significant other. This role might become our entire reason for staying in the relationship. And once that task is completed, we feel we are of no value to the other person or that there is no need to stay in the relationship. We might justify our existence by what we do and when what we ‘do’ is no longer needed, we fade away.
The same thing applies in work environments. If we base our value on the role or job we have, when that job ends we lose our value…at least in that way of thinking.
Amid scooping and spreading mulch this understanding kept growing….As the mulch pile decreased, the ideas increased.
There is danger in finding identity through what we do or our performance…rather than who we are at our core.
Over twenty-five years ago Thom Rutledge reminded me that my value doesn’t come from what I do. It was such a foreign concept he presented. I had based my entire life on approval for what I did. Not for who I was. Those layers are still peeling away and I understand on a deeper level exactly what he meant.
Success doesn’t come from how many books I sell or how much money I generate from hard work. If that were the case I’d be floating in cool cash after the past four days of labor in the garden. Perhaps success is really just about showing up, being present and living with an open heart and mind. I’m not sure yet…I’ll let you know in another 25 years.
Until then, I’ll be making my morning pilgrimage outdoors to unearth wisdom in a garden.
How much grass is in a bit of land eight feet by twenty feet? After three days of intermittent hard-core shoveling, kneeling, sorting and sweating I am no closer to knowing how much sod it takes to cover that much ground but I do know how much fuller my compost bin is after hauling the final remnants of grass from my new garden space.
My friends, the live oaks
I live under live oak trees with very little sunny areas for growing vegetables or sun-loving flowers so the decision to take this small strip of grass and turn it into a place to grow food and flowers seemed the next step in rebelling against the corporate mindset that seduces us into believing we have to purchase our food from a box or can that has been adulterated with toxic chemicals, petroleum-based fertilizers and genetically altered food. The only grass that had to be mowed on my property is now being composted. So I’m saving fuel, creating less carbon emissions and I’m growing food…and food for my soul–flowers.
It was grueling work that was aided by heavy rainfall that softened the soil. There was a window of opportunity that would close once the ground became dry. So hours were spent on my knees listening to song birds, hawks, the neighbor’s chickens and rain drops dripping from branches. My mind relaxed and I sank into earth time. If I tried to rush it seemed little progress was made; however, once I paused and intentionally connected with that slow, steady heartbeat of the planet, it seemed as if the task progressed quicker. Ah….a good lesson.
During the hours of manual labor my mind brought up questions to ponder. Probably the most important was this: What would it be like if we let go of roles we think we should play and simply were present to enJOY relationships? Or jobs? Or places we live? What if we let go of the need to assign a task to ourselves, a reason for being….and simply enJOYed life?
How often do we validate our worth by the role we play? Or think we should play? What if there really are no roles we are asked to act out? What if our ‘value’ simply comes from being present..with ourselves…with others…with the planet….with life! Why do we believe we have to ‘serve a purpose’ to another person? Isn’t just being present enough?
Obviously I spent a LOT of time digging and sorting over the past few days and have pondered many questions. The rhythm of Earth Mother pulled me deeper into my body, into relationship with Her and in the process helped me gain understanding. Perhaps my new little patch of freshly planted soil will bring more than vegetables and flowers. Perhaps my new path to healing and wholeness is garden time.
Today words hanging within my mind and heart don’t need a public platform but rather a safe place to be while the energy behind them gets balanced. So my focus is on flowers and their power to cheer us, heal us and bring joy.
A tiny sunflower is blooming in a large container where a gardenia calls home. It found its way there via a bird or squirrel who either mistakenly dropped it or has a love for gardening and flowers.
My friend has chosen to work in Iraq and I chose to move back to the Gulf Coast. Both of us felt a call to our chosen destination without knowing how our talents would be used or how we would make a difference; yet, each of us is finding ways to bring positive energy to where we are planted.
Like the little sunflower, all of us might be lucky enough to escape the equivalent of a trip through the digestive system of a bird or squirrel (with any luck at all) and find fertile soil in which to live, move and have our being. In reality, the world is our garden. Anywhere we find ourselves gives the opportunity to serve and shine a little light.
With proper nourishment and support we all might grow into our potential…and bless the world.
