A simple gift from a friend: a handful of organic seed packets and an organic gardening book. Carrots, beets, kale, lettuce and a few other greens. After the last freeze, I planted the seeds.
Checking in and watering the seedlings became part of my daily ritual. It gave me a chance to slow down and just be; if only for a few minutes. It was the beginning of a new partnership with nature and I could sense I was falling down an epic rabbit hole.
I failed miserably, but it was a blast! I had so much fun watching things grow. Even though I made every mistake in the book, the garden became a place of solace and peace.
Each morning, I went out to check on the seedlings and when the day finally came to harvest my carrots, I was so excited. I eagerly dug them up to discover some extra-tiny baby carrots. I was thinking, "Oh, This must be how you grow baby carrots!" No, that's just how you don't grow carrots very well...It didn't matter, I was hooked on getting my hands dirty with my first taste from the garden.
It boggles my mind when I try to wrap my head around it. A simple seed, waiting for the perfect moment to unfold and take off. It patiently waits until it’s time comes. I place them carefully just beneath the soil, give them a drink, and cheer them on. Out of one tiny seed, life arises. Slowly at first, but once it sets root, there’s no holding back. Creeping and climbing over obstacles to reach toward the warm rays of our closest star.
Within the seed, exists a knowing. An understanding that all will unfold perfectly, as long as it continues to follow the light. Then, it blooms! Life explodes and unfolds in the most beautiful way. Colors and aromas unlike any I’ve ever known. Flowers that are so perfectly designed by nature to provide nectar for the birds and bees who in turn pollinate and keep the wheel turning.
After the joy of watching the seed rise to meet the light and bloom for the world, it bears fruit! Who would of thought that such an amazing process takes place with each and every fruit and vegetable we take in. Think of all the flowers and scents we are missing out on by remaining disconnected from this process!
And just when we think it couldn’t get any more amazing, we open up the fruit to find hundreds, or thousands more seeds ready and waiting to do the whole thing over again. It’s hard to put this fascination into words, because it truly is an indescribable experience to reconnect with nature with our hands in the soil.
It changed my life and inspires me daily to share this gift with everyone I meet. I never knew a love so deep existed just beneath the surface. Consider this an invitation! Let me know if I can offer any advice in the gardening world. You've got this!
Onward and Upward,
John
Start a front yard community garden: http://foodisfreeproject.org