 Your
Healing Garden - Finding Your Healing Spirit in Your
Garden
By Michelle Collins of My Life Blossoms
To many, gardening has become another “have-to” in our growing list of daily
demands. A quote by the Sufi poet Rumi encourages us to look at gardening in
a different way: “Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment”...and in doing
so, highlight why you love to garden. Think of it once again as a creative
hobby.
I started gardening for two very different reasons. I lived in the UK for a
couple of years and couldn’t resist being inspired when anything and
everything thrives there. Returning to Southern Alberta, I had about two
acres of garden east of High River and my marriage was falling apart. My
saving grace became my garden.
I found my main healing/coping mechanism was my garden. I needed that space
in nature to feel alive and for the assurance that “it was going to be
okay.” I could feel joy there. I could see joy all around me. Healing came
by gardening and it was totally unintentional. Losing myself for hours on
end in the garden created a Zen-like feeling, or maybe that was just sheer
exhaustion! Now gardening strengthens my sense of “selfulness” and my
cutting garden allows me to share this joy through the flowers.
No two gardens are ever the same, so I think Einstein’s theory is true. He
said, “Creativity is seeing what others see and thinking what no one else
has thought.” Your creativity is your uniqueness. Creativity allows you to
be more intuitive, and less analytical. When you give yourself the time to
garden you notice subtle changes taking place.
In the book Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach, she defines three
layers of creation, and they fit my experience perfectly:
1) The Labour: Working with your hands, showing up to do the work. Where
most of us start.
2) The Craft: Using hands and head; how you do the work applying mind, body
and spirit.
3) The Elevation: Hands, head and heart = artistry. Love is present using
and producing spiritual energy.
Hopefully you will find yourself here.
The healing spirit of your garden is available if you commit to a creative
routine. Believing it is as important as other things in your life makes it
a matter of energy management rather than time management. This is also how
to practice “selfulness”; the focus on YOU time! When you believe gardening
is creative and nurturing, you will experience the healing spirit - healing
as a process of curing the mind or body.
“There is no true healing unless there is a change in outlook, peace of
mind, and inner happiness.” - Edward Bach of the Bach Flower
Remedies.
Gardening has the potential to teach us to be meditative, one-minded, aiding
in relaxation; the body is relaxed, the mind is peaceful, yet alert.
Gardening teaches us to be connected to earth through the energy of flowers
and mother nature. This connection offers refreshment, sanctuary and
spirituality. Gardening also teaches us to feel accomplished; to feel
balance in life; to be patient; to cultivate and appreciate beauty; to be
physical using the body in a productive and rewarding way; and to yield
control when dealing with the elements like the weather.
Gardening is sensory. It is a form of self-expression and creativity. A
garden is first an intimate space that you create from a vision. The plants
that inspire you take second place because a garden would just feel like a
garden centre if it was only about the plants. A garden captivates all of
your senses. Envision the sound of birds and running water; the smell of
sweet peas and freshly tilled soil; the feel of Lamb’s ears, or the dirt in
your hands; the taste of freshly picked peas; and, of course, watching the
miracle of tulips unfold in early May to the profusion of blooms in July.
One of the best parts of gardening is how it makes you feel, and each season
has its own feeling. Planting the new seedlings creates the anticipation of
their blooms. Satisfaction comes from sitting on a lovely July morning with
a cup of tea to admire nature’s handiwork. A delicious accomplishment comes
from picking your tomatoes before the frost hits. Anticipation grows from
planning through the winter what you will do next year. The Oprah/Eckhart
Tolle experience reassures us, as gardeners intuitively know, that nature
and its stillness is so important. Creating something beautiful and
concentrating on that task with care and attentiveness invokes reverence.
Discovering Your Own Garden’s Energy - Our natural gifts of
intuition and creativity can readily emerge from time spent in stillness.
This is important feedback on how to begin designing our own soul sanctuary.
Think about your garden and answer the following questions:
- How do I feel when I enter the garden?
- What does this garden contain that I love?
- What would I most like to remove?
- Where do I feel most relaxed?
- What practical things do I need in this garden?
- How do I feel when I leave?
Is there anything missing that would make it your own personal healing
space? Be still so you can hear the life and start to recognize the gifts of
the garden. Remember there isn’t a wrong way to garden. Each garden has its
own energy. Do you need a bench near the crabapple tree where you stop to
enjoy the view in Spring? Would a piece of garden art or a couple of extra
chairs on the deck provide more energy? It’s your space...what would you
like?
Michelle is a life gardener & grower of lives in the business of teaching
women to improve their health, weight & whole being. If you’re ready to
blossom, call 403.549.2031
www.mylifeblossoms.com |
