Dig It! - Words of Inspiration
by Sage & Snow Garden Club
April 9, 2009
Part 1 of our series of articles on intensive gardening covered planning and soil preparation. The practice of intensive gardening is not just for those with limited garden space; rather, an intensive garden concentrates your work efforts to create an ideal plant environment, giving better yields. The intensive gardening ideal is to have something growing in every part of the garden at all times during the growing season. An intensive garden minimizes wasted space. We will resume this article series next month when we discuss vertical gardening, succession planting, and relay planting. This month's entry, however, is all about hope, love, and inspiration. The following prose appeared as the last page in the March, 2009, Prevention magazine. It was written by Ardath Rodale, chief inspiration officer of Rodale, Inc., and author of several books, including Everyday Miracles. We hope you find inspiration in your garden this year.
Each year, I can hardly wait to peek into my gardens to discover the bulbs poking up through the soil. All winter they've been waiting patiently before they start their journey to announce that spring is on its way. Oh, how I love to see their bright green stems, and I know, very often within days, I will see their glorious blooms.
In our journey, we often encounter individuals who are going through various challenges and have experienced countless heartaches. Like those tiny bulbs, they too are trying desperately to climb toward that warm bright light. Please reach out to those people with a smile and a warm embrace and offer them the hope and encouragement they long for. Your compassion gives them the inspiration to start a new day--to open their wings and fly! Our ability to heal and to help others is unlimited, and by lifting each other up, opening our hearts to strangers, and offering hope and encouragement to everyone you meet, it helps them on their journey of growth and understanding.
Life can be down at times, and it may seem to have too few "highs" in it. The highs are laughter, fun, activity, and involvement with others. Even people who can't dance with their feet can dance with their heart and mind. Give yourself gifts--plant seeds, grow flowers, and take a walk, sing, or dream. This is the real spiritual/physical therapy that we need for well-being.
Remember to share the joy, the hope, and the love. Lend a shoulder or give a hug--we are all children of God, loved unconditionally and fully.
When I was in Europe, I was greatly inspired by the mountains of Switzerland, and at the end of the trip, I wrote: "Oh, let us always have a mountain within our soul with a peak so high that we never quite reach the top, for then we always strive for greater things and will not be content with merely climbing hills."
I am thankful for this beautiful and magical creation called life.
The next Sage and Snow Garden Club meeting will be April 21, 5:30 pm, in the Cooperative Extension Service Office at 621 South Pine, Pinedale. Come at 5 pm for social time. Contact us at Box 2280, Pinedale, WY, 82941, by email at sageandsnow@yahoo.com or call 859-8606.
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