Gardening

Everything in the garden is alive, each with its own unique nature.  For all of human history, the garden has been a symbol of life, an archetype of wholeness and connection to our essential being.  Whether we realize it or not, when we nurture a houseplant, a flowerbed or a landscape, we participate in the mystery of life, the evocation of the Life Force.

In the Bible, God is the gardener: “The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden.”  Eden is our childlike innocent Self; it is a time when we need to be looked after.  As we develop, we take responsibility for our own growth; we become our own gardeners: “Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it.”  Cultivating our inner garden is a sacred task that we cannot avoid.

To be a gardener is to participate in the miracle of creation.  As a skill, a vocation and a contemplative discipline, it requires dedication of body, mind and soul.  Nurturing plants and the soil they depend on, is a privilege earned over a lifetime.  Nature reveals its secrets only to the dedicated. 

Over the last few years, I have become deeply involved with Organic Bountea, a business that seeks to foster a deeply ecological and sustainable approach to growing.  If you are interested in gardening, please visit the Organic Bountea site. You can look at many of my gardening articles and sign up for the monthly newsletter to obtain timely growing tips.

To read more about gardening and inner development visit my blog: The Soul of Gardening.