Garden now and then in your garden of possibilities

Sipping a cup of coffee, I watch the early morning sun filtering through my window as I slowly shed the cob webs of a very deep sleep. It’s mid February and looking out my window, I can see some spring bulbs already peeking through the still very damp earth. Most people in Canada would think that its spring here on Southern Vancouver Island. We really do enjoy great weather for the most part. As I awaken more, thoughts of my day begin to flood in. A meeting at 8:15 this morning, then back to do some market research pertaining to a software development project I am involved in. Details start to form and my to-do list comes clearly into view as the beautiful garden begins to lose my attention. My garden of possibilities. By now you are probably wondering; “Ok Gil, where are you going with this”?

All of us have responsibilities. We face various levels of stress and frustration related to our jobs, our home lives and our finances. Far too few of us offset these things with what I like to call decompression activities. For me, gardening is one of them. Karate and music are others but this article is about gardening. Why gardening? I can think of many reasons but I would like to present a few that you might not have considered.

Gardening offers me a great sense of satisfaction in that I can start something and see an immediate result. I can visualize something, like a new bed for example, plan it, do it, see it finished and know that it will blossom into something beautiful. I use my imagination, my hands, my feet, my legs and lots of muscle power.

I breathe! I am in touch, indeed connected with something much larger than myself. My mind is quiet and focused. Later in the early evening, I can walk through my yard and look at what I have accomplished. It makes me smile and I feel good about it. The more I do it, the more I want to do it. What I do for a living is similar in that there is a vision and work to do to see the vision become a reality. The difference is that in my work life, it can take months or even years to see the results and many things are beyond my control. Moreover, it’s really hard to undo much of what we do at work. Conversely, if something grows too big in my garden, I can simply transplant it elsewhere or pot it and give it to my mom, or sister, or a friend or neighbor.

There are at least 3 dynamics in what I just mentioned that help me in other areas of my life.

1. It allows me to exercise my imagination and the principle of visualization. The more I do, the more I want to do and the easier it gets. I begin to visualize more challenging tasks with no fear of tackling them and no doubts about my abilities. It builds confidence.
2. It’s holistic. It puts me in touch with something that is so often taken for granted; nature, the universe, call it what you will but it is healing to the body, mind and soul. It mutes that constant inner dialog we all have and it makes me feel good!
3. It’s good exercise. Before I got into gardening, I had heard that it was a good form of exercise. I would chuckle at this notion. Hockey! Now THAT’S exercise! Five years ago I decided we needed a 60 foot bed for perennials along one side of our back yard. I decided to dig up the sod, move it and then bring in dirt. I did this by hand and with a wheel barrow. It was roughly 3 yards of sod out and 4 yards of dirt in! I quickly realized how much work that is. My arms, legs and back were sore for 3 days. If you know a full time gardener, note how well toned they are and for goodness sake don’t challenge them to an arm wrestle!

So there it is. Something for you to consider. In retrospect, perhaps I should have titled this article: Garden now and Zen in your garden of possibilities!

Photo Credits

All Photos © Gil Namur

First published at synaptici

Recent Gil Namur Articles:

• Look After the Little Things
• Promenade
• Close Encounters Of The Google Kind
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• A Dance of Delight