Digging for God 10 September 2013
This time of year, most of us get the ‘green fingers’ inspiration. To nurture seeds or seedlings, see them grow and eventually be rewarded with flowers or fruit/vegetables, is certainly worth-while. My mother is a gardening specialist/fanatic. She spends every possible moment in the garden. At almost 78, she injures herself all the time, as she chooses to ignore her physical limitations! Growing up, she was almost an absent parent, as she landscaped a barren Highveld property into a virtual park. Today I understand that she found refuge in her garden, in difficult times. Twenty years or so later, they moved to the Bushveld, where she has systematically created another paradise. Plants are moved and grouped and re-planted and moved again. Compost heaps are created and the vegetable garden is always in full production. Gardening, for her, is a therapy as well as a spiritual experience, where she communes with God. My father, having given up understanding this ‘addiction to gardening’ says my mother is not happy unless she is standing head down with her fingers in the soil. I have heard it referred to as: “digging for God”. Nature facilitates and enhances the closeness to all creation. Some people find it on long walks in the mountains or on the beach, but this is not easily accessible here on the Highveld. When last did you take of your shoes and feel the grass under your feet? When last did you dig into the soil with your bare hands? Try lying down in your garden on a blanket and just look at the clouds changing in the sky. Make time - even if it means sitting under a tree…..listening…..closing your eyes for a few seconds…… take a deep breath…..it is relaxing, de-stressing, and energizing!
Laleli Motivational Speaking and Life Coach www.karin-engman.blogspot.com3
