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THE WISDOM OF THE GARDEN It isn't just the pastime of baseball that captures the attention and devotion of literally millions of Americans; it's gardening as well. Gardens and gardeners are everywhere from backyard plots to community gardens, from well-manicured estate grounds to flower pots on an apartment balcony. I personally think of gardening as our national passion. It's with a
feeling of pride that we harvest those plump, juicy tomatoes or gather a
bouquet of summertime
flowers. Yet there's a deeper meaning to be found in the
activity of gardening. I'm speaking of the spiritual rewards of tending and
nurturing what grows in the earth. These deeper connections with self and the
earth are what I call the path to 'the wisdom of the garden'. Millions of us
have spoken with passionate, articulate voices of having learned a new, deeper
way of seeing and knowing while seeding and weeding. "To tend a garden is to nourish the soul", a long-time gardener told me, "when we're connected through our gardens to the intrinsic rhythm and beauty of nature, we are better able to fully actualize ourselves." The garden contributes much to our personal deepening and spiritual growth. If we take time to watch and listen carefully, we can often find pathways to the sources of our deepest satisfaction and greatest fulfillment just digging in the dirt. Gardening lets us step away from the noise and distraction of the world. It's a way to experience the pleasure and peace of solitude. Just yesterday, a friend told me that for her, gardening was a meditation. You're experiencing yourself as you garden. My garden is an extension of me and its here for all to see. It's a statement. I was here. I am here. I created this. Gardening is our attempt to make a difference, to create beauty, to nurture the earth and be nurtured by her. The whole sequence of life is in the garden, from the seed in spring to death in winter, and then the cycle repeats its growth again. The garden brings us directly in touch with our mortality. We, like the plants, have our life span. Thomas Jefferson, our third president, spent many hours in his later years in his gardens at Monticello, his Virginia home. With gratitude for the harvest of the earth and with pride in the garden he personally tended, he said, "There is no occupation so delightful as the cultivation of the earth and no culture comparable to that of the garden. Though an old man, I am but a young gardener." The bond with the earth, even a very small piece of it, can provide a feeling of comfort, security, joy, pride of accomplishment, sense of purpose, peace, harmony and tranquility. For many of us, the link with earth is the connection to the heavens as well. For me, and I hope for you, although gardening may dirty your hands and soil your blue jeans, a few hours in the garden is guaranteed to nourish your soul. |