Mind and Garden

It’s often said gardening clears a person’s mind, puts them in touch with the land and relieves stress.

I’ve gardened pretty much since I moved to Montana, but what if gardening is something different, and what if it’s more than what we’d thought it would be? See, my take is that gardening is more like our minds, our energy, than I’d previously thought of in the past.

I’m starting to think of it like this quote I read somewhere… probably on Facebook, but unfortunately I don’t have anyone to credit for it. It read, “Your mind is a garden, your thoughts are the seeds, you can grow flowers, or you can grow weeds.” It really struck me, and then got me to thinking about all the ways our minds and gardens undergo a lot of the same things.

Last week, I participated in a virtual online course called “Expedition to Soul.” It was an incredibly eye-opening experience which led me to a deeper awareness of me, my energy and my focus. In the first day, our “homework” was to work on reclaiming our own energy. According to the class, everything and everyone has energy. Some good, some bad and some in between. Basically, every time we touch something, come in contact with another person, walk in nature, drive our cars, etc., we are giving and receiving energy, knowingly or not. It made me think, if we leave energy wherever we go, shouldn’t it be good energy?

So how does all of this compare to gardening? I’m glad you asked. Remember, this is only my perspective, yours might be different, and that’s cool too, but if you’re stuck or looking for your way to view it, maybe this will help…

A garden’s energy is always focused on growing. In order for it to grow, we have to feed it, water it and care for it. In order for us to grow, physically, we need food, water and care. In order for us to grow in our minds, we need to feed it. I think of this as information – which can be good information or bad information. Both cause our minds to grow in some way. We either experience good things, or learn from the not-so-good experiences for future reference.

In the course last week about reclaiming energy, I learned how to call and bring my energy back to center. I know that sounds a little woo-woo, but hear me out. In order for me to do that, I had to clear my mind. In gardening, before we can plant seeds, we have to prepare the soil. We have to clear it of negative energy such as weeds and rodents, and make it a healthy environment for plants to thrive. We have to clear our minds to weed out the negative thoughts, emotions and experiences so we can plant healthier, more positive energy in its place, so we can thrive.

In the garden, once the seeds have germinated, they begin to grow the plant that will hopefully produce fruit or vegetables. While they are growing, they still require continued care such as watering and pulling weeds that might destroy them. In our human minds, once we’ve cleared the energy and allowed for positive energy to grow, we also must continue to provide care so we grow in our experiences and lessons. Like a garden, we are constantly “weeding out” what doesn’t serve us.

In gardening, , plants will generally then provide seeds. I also recently learned about seed-saving, which is a fascination in itself. A plant’s only goal is to grow and reproduce. They have a way of doing it on their own, with a little help from some pollinating friends like bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and, believe it or not, even flies.

I like to think of myself as someone who wants to continually grow. Reproduction is out of the question for me at this stage in the game, but I feel like growth is something I’ve been leaning into for quite some time. Like plants, I also get a little help with my growth from friends, experiences and even some negative situations. I relate my negative situations to the fly pollinators, because even though we need them, let’s face it, they’re kind of annoying.

In gardening, we harvest produce and, if we’re lucky, the seeds, so we can plant a garden again the following year. In life, we harvest good experiences and, like the seeds, we save and store them, hopefully to use in the future.

Plants and humans experience some tough changes in the weather. In a garden setting, the weather can be favorable, or it can cause devastation. In our human setting, the weather or our surroundings can also be favorable or devastating. In our gardens, if the weather gets too cold, the plants freeze and often die. If our human surroundings are too cold, physically or metaphorically, we humans can also become frozen, unwilling to move forward.

The biggest difference between us and our gardens is that gardening in Montana is a very seasonal thing. It starts about now with starting our seeds. In Lincoln, we’re lucky to be able to get our starts in the ground by May. Generally, by September, our gardening season is over.

But in our human lives and minds, we can begin and continue to grow ourselves through all the seasons. Based on my class from last week it just requires a clearing of energy to begin again, and we can do that at any moment.

How wonderful is it that, while we are so similar to a garden, we can begin and continue to grow at any stage in the game or in any season of our lives? It can be a struggle sometimes, but in my experience, growth is generally worth it. If you need further proof, try growing a garden.