Gardening for the Soul

Gardening has so many rules.... I have never watched so many different gardening, planting, flower, growing videos, reels, specials, vlogs etc. in my life. If you know me than you also know I love chaos and all of the different ways to garden is not chaotic, but an organized madness that people bring onto themself that can make your head hurt. 

My literal quote the other day to my mother-in-law when she was telling me I need to wrap a plant because of the weather with a trashbag, "if God wants me to have a harvest then he will provideth especially since he knows the hardwork I have put into it." Is that wrong to have faith in my garden because I know God will bless it based on the effort I put into it? Some may think so, but I am still putting all of the faith in God that he has guided me the right way. Now gardening is also a learning tool just like so much in life. I cannot guarantee the divine hands of God is literally going to bless my garden to be a bountiful harvest or it may just be a few tomatoes or cucumbers. It may also be that this year I need to learn something when trying to grow brocolli for the first time - who knows. That is life though... you try something and you learn from it - good or bad.

I have never been one for the outside and planting. I joke that when I turned 40 is when I got bit my the plant-bug, but honestly, I think it was all of the healing I was teaching to my clients that started to sink into my soul as well. Growth, revitalizing, life in general. I had a beautiful garden that I had the ability to work in the last three years at the treatment center I worked at. Bountiful cucumbers, tomatoes, strawberries and odd and end veggies that I was trying my hand in growing with clients. My little garden is small this year to see how I do at my house and alone. I don't have clients helping me water, or weed like before, but I think in order for me to grow, I need to start off small and see what I can handle before putting more on my plate. 

I did make sure I tilled the land myself. I used a hand tiller that really gives you a good workout. I checked the soil for weeds before putting more garden soil in my semi-raised beds. Side note on the whole raised bed debate is that our entire world is a growing system connected with trees, grass, flowers, etc., so I wanted to make sure that whatever I am planting is connected to this network. I have two small disconnected beds from the earth to see the experiment on the bounty when it comes to planted in the ground versus above. I am sure the garden soil I used is amazing, but there is something about the soil provided by the earth itself.

The work, the stress, the money, the time and the patience I put into my little garden was to at first spend all of the anger I had from being laid off from work without warning or notice, but then I realized that anger may have been the motive, but it is not the gift that I was given from the garden itself. I created something that is going to give back to my family. It may be a little bit or a lot, but I did it. The anger I had in the beginning slowly went a way, and it wasn't driving my actions. My healing nature came back to me and I was healing myself to bring my healing ability to others. The garden mended my soul and helped me create not only this website, my consultation services, and my recovery books, but also to reconnect with finding my own personal joys and peace again. 

The end note to all of this, is that I have seen so many people suffering because of addiction. It has torn through families, friends, and the world like a wildfire. I can only imagine if people could find their garden and start working on it, how much better their own life would be and maybe that is what will bring the world back because gardening not only provides food for sustanance, but also your own world-torn souls.