Starting a garden can be a great and fruitful (pun intended) mindfulness meditation.
First, you get to connect with the earth and Mama Nature Herself. Learning from Nature is about as good as is gets. Have you heard that life analogy that ideas and dreams and projects are like plants in a garden? You can’t plant a seed and then the next day, go out and pull it up, hoping that it’s grown. Gardening calls for a whole new level of patience and trust. But you don’t have to care about philosophy to garden or see it as a mindfulness practice.
Second, you get to think about your favorite foods - the ones you want to put the effort into growing. Have you ever bitten into a warm tomato, fresh from the garden, or tasted a piece of lettuce straight out of the ground? Wow. There is no comparison. (That’s a beautiful exercise in and of itself - mindful eating, but that’s for another day.) Today, if you could grow something you love, what would it be? And why? Think about the color, the texture, the taste, the nutritional benefits. This is being mindful about what you put in your body and why. And when is the last time you described a pungent bite of baby arugula or whatever your favorite thing from the garden is? Try it, it’s fun!
Third. You have to schedule time to garden. Those seeds don’t plant themselves. And no cell phone is required. (Even better than a cell phone, get the latest version of the farmer’s almanac, like an old time paper version, and take it out to the garden and get it all water crinkled and dirt stained.) Smartphones are usually the death of a mindfulness practice. Harsh, but true. When you do a task without your cell phone attached to you, you aren’t constantly interrupted with calls, texts and notifications, and also you get the gift of losing track of time. Settle into that glorious flow state, baby. Luxuriate in it. (The best flow times are when you’re the equivalent of a Hobbit but a meal time has come and gone and you didn’t even notice.)
Fourth. Gardening slows you down. I’ll be the first to admit that I want to plant a lime tree today and I want to make a fresh margarita tomorrow. But alas, that is not how it works. And this is another good life lesson for us. Sometimes the things that matter most take time, attention, love, patience, grace…and for the rest of what it takes, I am going to refer to my darling sister behind Joy Max Jardin, JennyMarie Jemison (JMJ) because she is the gardening Queen. And she’s kind and will answer your questions and she has a deep appreciation for gardening for mental health as well. So reach out!
Fifth: Gardening connects you with wonderful people. I know my girlfriends and I have had so much fun trying to start gardens at the same time, commiserating on our failures, celebrating our wins. “That’s the cutest, single cherry tomato the size of a pinky fingernail I’ve ever seen!” And as JMJ says, “there are so many other benefits that a garden can give someone, especially someone who is isolated. In a garden, you’re never alone – I say that all the time, but it’s true – you have a habitat in your backyard that most people are not even aware of.” Amen to forever knowing you are surrounded by love, support, and edible flowers.
I’ll be writing more about the mindfulness practices behind gardening, the benefits of nature, the exercises you can do with food, but in the meantime, get some fun seeds here and let’s do this together!