It's the first Monday of the month so I am taking my inspiration from the book How to be Content. When I first got interested in gardening, I read that Prince Charles enjoyed weeding. I imagined him wearing his crown, kneeling in the dirt, pulling out the weeds one by one. I also enjoy weeding. It is a contemplative pursuit where I can just focus on each weed and "be here now" which, if you have read many of my blog articles, you will know is hard for me to do. And then I look around, and I have cleared a whole bed of its weeds. The bonus for those of us who like to weed is that in a few weeks, we get to do it again!
There is a section on mindful gardening in How to be Content where Dr Unger writes that dirt has a bacterium in it that is thought to trigger the release of serotonin. Another good reason to get out there and weed and plant. Enjoy the beauty of May flowers and their sweet scent, encourage beneficial insects and listen to their humming and buzzing, be content in your garden.
Be inspired:
Growing myself : a spiritual journey through gardening / Handelsman, Judith F., 635 HAN
Royal Horticultural Society gardening for mindfulness / Farrell, Holly, 635 FAR
The sanctuary garden : creating a place of refuge in your yard or garden / McDowell, Christopher Forrest, 712 MCD
The Kids Can Press jumbo book of gardening /Morris, Karyn J 635 MOR
Renovation nation: Gardening, watch your green grow DVD 712 REN
A new book in the Library is Gardening for Mindfulness by Holly Farrell. "Gardening, like mindfulness, is a way of finding a sense of calm in an otherwise chaotic world, a simpler existence, even if it is only for a few minutes. Both forge a connection to the world around us, to nature and wildlife, which can bring pleasure and peace. In this beautifully illustrated guide to gardening for mindfulness, horticulturalist and mindfulness practitioner Holly Farrell provides a blueprint for a more contemplative way to garden, including projects, meditations and inspiration." - from the publisher. This is a beautiful book that I highly recommend.
Another book you may find enlightening is Growing myself : a spiritual journey through gardening by Judith Handelsman. "The author of Tender Loving Care for Plants presents a holistic approach to gardening and self-knowledge, emphasizing the gardener as nurturing figure rather than manipulator, and explores ancient and current teachings about the relationships between plants and people." - from the publisher.