We are raised in a culture that rewards those who move fast and don't slow down. The pursuit of perfection is valued more than the pursuit of purpose. Trained to think that we should sustain maximum output all the time. But if we look to nature as a guide, we would realize that nothing in nature blooms year round. Everything grows and blooms and rests in its season.
I love gardening because its a reminder to slow down. And it rewards you when you do. Putting your hands in the dirt, touching the ground allows electrons to flow into your body helping it align with the Earth's natural frequencies. This is grounding and it allows your body to return to its naturally balanced electrical state.
My sister and her kids came in to visit this weekend and it was wonderful showing her around our beautiful mountain town and walking the trails. But the week of being out of the garden meant a mini forest of weeds to tend to once she left.
It was tempting to grab my dutch hoe and quickly take care of a bulk of the weeds but as I made my first rake I noticed a nasturtium growing from seed dropped from last years plant.
I grabbed my hand shovel and transplant it out of the pathway to a safer area of the garden. But in doing this I slowed down enough to notice a few more nasturtiums growing. I decided to continue hand weeding, instead of the faster more efficient option of the dutch hoe, as I pulled up the weeds I noticed these tiny little seedlings growing.
They are called Jewels of Opar. They self sow every year, but I hadn't seen them yet and was worried that in redesigning the garden's layout over winter I may have killed them. But I didn't, they were just slow to bloom this year. Blooming on nature's schedule, not mine.
In this moment of slowing myself down, I realized if I had opted for speed and efficiency to weed the garden as a task, instead of an opportunity to be with nature, I would have missed seeing these seedlings and likely raked them right out of the ground with the weeds.
Then I asked myself why am I gardening in the first place? Is it to cross something off my to do list? Or is it because I enjoy the act of it? Is it because I enjoy being out in the fresh air. Feeling the sunshine warm my skin. The coolness of the soil on my hands. Recognizing the various varieties of seedlings as they sprout leaves. Witnessing life push its way through the darkness of dirt to emerge with its own strength tall into the sunshine. Listening the birds call to each other in the sky above me. Feeling the breeze blow across the back of my neck. Feeling the gratitude of connecting to earth.
So if I enjoy all these things about being in the garden why am I rushing any of it. I should be slowing down to savor it.