Like many lovers of peace, Tenzin Gyatso, the Dalai Lama has often pointed out that by meditating if we could eliminate conflict from the repertoire of human behaviour the money that is currently spent on armaments could be used for positive global development. The energy spent on personal conflict can also be re-directed through meditation to bring about personal peace.
The garden is a metaphor for life,
And gardening is a symbol of the spiritual life. Larry Dossey.
On those days with sunny breaks we have been in the garden preparing the soil, pruning the dead branches and raking leaves. The wattle and emerging blossom is a powerful sign that Spring is on the horizon and ‘new life’ is about to bloom.
Mindful gardening is a contemplative practice that is meditation in the outdoors.
It is generally easier to meditate while performing a chosen activity, and I’m presuming gardening falls into that category, because focussing on power and productivity is usually antithetical to the meditative state. Sometimes in magazines we read stories of gardeners that share through their writing the profound spiritual effects that they experience while working with plants, sun and soil.
The meditative gardener emphasises the process of gardening rather than the product. The perennial beds may look as healthy as the ones next door, but that’s not the point.
The intention of the meditative gardener is to lose the sense of time’s rushing passage and to enjoy the momentary pleasures and challenges the garden presents.
oOo
And now let us meditate in the fashion that we are accustomed to.
You might like to dedicate your meditation to those that are affected by Covid-19 virus either through illness, bereavement or unemployment or some special intention of your own.
oOo
As we go about our daily activities I hope that by being in the present, by remaining mindful we will find joy in the midst of this trial. Peter