15th May 2006
The Spirituality of Gardening
One of the tried and true suggestions for surviving the workday is to surround yourself with plants, including potted plants and cut flowers.
In addition to their beauty, plants are symbols of life and of our connection to the earth. Plants help us remember to nurture them and to nurture ourselves.
If you work at home, you may be able to go into the actual garden, but much less space can still allow you to nurture plants. A kitchen garden, a terrarium, a potted marigold, a porthos—these can bring a sense of life (and oxygen) into your workday.
From Gardening and Spirituality:
Many serious minded women and men, spiritual seekers, have become advocates for gardening as an effective means to start and stay on the spiritual path. They are rediscovering a centuries old tradition of combining prayer, meditation, or silence with the daily efforts of hoeing, digging, watering, planting, harvesting, and pruning in their gardens. Even the quiet contemplation of the beauties and wonders of a garden, after a few hours of work in the garden, are sufficient for many to transport them into mystical reveries or provide profound insights.
I’ve found that in my own garden (flowers, vegetables, cacti), I’ve come to understand how to cultivate seeds and seedlings (and patience), how to nurture admid hardship, and that death is part of the cycle.
On a practical note, I used to abhor cut flowers, which seemed to exist only to watch them die. But after much study of plants, I’ve come to realize how this is essentially part of their purpose and that I can enjoy the beauty even though it is only temporary.
