Gone Gardening

That's where I've been. Enjoying every moment of it.

For the first time, I made the decision to enjoy the process of gardening. Sometimes simply deciding to be, and enjoy being while you're at it, is all it takes. As a result, I have enjoyed even the clearing out, cutting back, raking and weeding that I usually just endure or skim over to get to the fun of arranging new plants in the ground, containers and window boxes. Using the straightforward method of sensory awareness, I brought myself into the present moment by listening to the sounds of birds and my children playing, smelling every herb and flower and feeling the sensations of my hands and wellies in the dirt. I had a moment where I considered that there might not be anything in the world more beautiful than the dark rich color of freshly turned soil ( just high on life, I swear. )

Gardening is truly good for the body, mind and spirit. There's lots to do, there's lots to know and there's lots of opportunities to stop and smell the roses.

Remember that song by Mac Davis? While the rest of us had posters of Donny Osmond in his purple socks on our wall, my sister had Mac Davis. Uh huh. I could not make that up. Anyway, here's some lyrics from his song:

Where you going in such a hurry
Don't you think it's time you realized
There's a whole lot more to life than work and worry
The sweetest things in life are free
And there right before your eyes

You got to Stop and Smell the roses
You've got to count your many blessings everyday