berry-spattered and grinning
she holds the stage

teenage aunties get their pants dirty;
kick off dainty shoes to play on the ground

their boyfriends
-uncomfortable-
swig beer and try not to say
awwhh

This is what we don't speak of:

the flipside of freedom is aimlessness;

the rejection of the existing order means the absence of landmarks.

Bobbing helplessly on unknown waters

we scan horizons for the faint glow of our ideals.

this won me a year's subscription to "nature and health"!

Sacred Space- planting seeds

When I begin to feel disconnected, lonely or confused, it usually means i'm not gardening enough. If i'm lonely I probably haven't been planting enough seeds.

All gardening is good for the soul, but planting seeds is especially grounding. Plunging bare hands into the earth to plant a tiny seed; then watering, watching, trusting that life will burst forth. This, to me, is one of the most fundamental acts of living. To be able to interact with the earth this way, to midwife a plant into being, this is as connected to the world as I can be.

I'm never more aware of the wonder and beauty of the world than when planting seeds. Doing so with another person is even more moving, and my closest friends are those I have gardened with. Growing a plant connects me with all those who have lived, grown, eaten and loved before me. It connects me with my earliest human ancestors and also with the plant world.

In difficult times I find planting a kind of release. Sadness, frustration and pain can be buried deep and forgotten there. Feeling the sun on my back, dirt under my nails, I begin to feel happy again.

I wonder often if depression and anxiety would be less widespread in our society if we all spent more time with our hands in the dirt.