May 3, 2022, Halifax, NS: Picture this. You are standing in your back garden, overwhelmed by the task ahead. It’s time to prepare your spring garden for planting. The hum of morning traffic and children on their way to school swarms around your head. Close your eyes.
Inhale. Pull on your garden gloves.
Exhale. Open your eyes and kneel beside your raised bed.
Inhale. Pick up your small trowel.
Exhale. Dig deep into the soil, churning up the fresh, moist, precious substance beneath the dry outer crust.
With every breath the morning rush fades further into the distance, and soon you are left with little more than the chirping of birds, the sun dancing through leaves in the soft morning breeze, and the slow, steady sound of your own breathing. Your soul (!) focus is on the repetition of freeing the rich, brown elixir from its winter cover. The stress you felt before starting this perceived arduous task has almost entirely evaporated. You picture what your garden will look like in full bloom. You are calm and at peace in your own perfect corner of the world. Your body, mind, and soul feel joyful.
May 3 is widely observed as Garden Meditation Day. Whether your garden is sprawling acres backing onto a lake, part of a community allotment in a bustling urban setting, or a window box overlooking a playground, it can bring the same holistic sense of wellbeing to your life. So today, all of us here at Oberland Agriscience encourage you to find some time for yourself in your outdoor oasis of calm. You deserve it, and your soul and Mother Nature will thank you for it!
Happy Garden Meditation Day, dear Obie’s Friends!