This weekend, I went to the garden to gather up the last of the
tomatoes (that's right, still had a few good tomatoes in November)
and peppers, and to take up the stakes and wire that supported some
of the taller plants in the garden. While I was completing the
task, I was thinking of the work that went into the garden this
year and the different approach to weeding I
utilized.
I was much more "hands off" with the weeding this year. I kept
the weeds knocked down immediately adjacent to the plants and
completely out of the herb section. Yet in other areas, I allowed
the weeds to grow freely. What I found during this very dry,
near-drought year was that by letting go of trying to control the
weeds, they provided an abundance of flowers that attracted many
bees along with the flowers we planted for the bees. The weeds
helped to hold the moisture in the soil rather than it being baked
by the sun.
By allowing the garden to mature in its own way with a light
guiding hand, we were blessed with a bumper crop of just about
every vegetable, herb, flower, tuber, and seed we could use this
year. As a matter of fact, we still have so many beets and carrots,
I'm hoping we can harvest and eat them before the park rangers plow
the community garden in preparation for winter. We have plenty to
eat fresh, yet not enough left to can or pickle.
I feel that the growth and evolution of the Naturopathic
Gathering has blossomed in much the same way. Each year, each
hosting school honors the tradition of the Gathering while adding
its own energy to the event. In many ways, the plans, details and
intricacies of the event evolve even as it is taking shape. The
natural changes of the Gathering over the past year, the weeds, the
flowers, the inspirational bees arriving to pollinate great ideas
never dreamed of until a specific moment when a few minds come
together.
That being said, I'll share a little story to close. As I was
gathering a large storage bin that holds our watering hose, I
picked up the bin only to disturb a family of four field mice who
were snugly napping in their den hollowed out into the soil
underneath the bin. I heard a "squeak," and looked down into the
eyes of a little mouse looking up at me as if to say, "Why did you
take my house?" Well, I tell ya, I felt terrible as the little
field mice all ran in different directions. I know, I know! These
are pests, rodents, and they carry disease!
These little field mice were living in an environment muddled up
by my presence with my cultivation of the field where they were
living, in my opinion. So, I took some action to give them a bit of
a house back. I took some large stones that were big enough to
cover their den and leave the little tunnels for them. I piled more
stones on top of those and filled in with dirt all around the
little mound in the hopes that they would return and have a place
to keep warm this winter. In this sense, my placement of a foreign
object in the process of changing the natural state of the garden
gave a home to the little field mice. My removal of the foreign
object (the storage container), then forced these little guys to
abandon their home and most likely relocate in the time of year
when they are in critical need of shelter. Just another reminder
that each and every action we take has an impact, whether in our
gardens, lives or interactions with others. The touch we put on
these actions hopefully leaves a positive impact. I hope tonight
the little critters have a home and that my "hands on" placement of
the container has not caused them harm.
What is the take-away thought that is related to school this
week? Given that all classes require a tight "hands on" approach to
research, study, citation and thought, I guess my writing this week
is about a "hands off" approach to life, its twists, turns,
surprises and events. Life is going to happen. It will be happy,
sad, challenging, easy at times, yet we will wake each day and go
through our routine while at the same time experiencing something
new every day. Drop your hands every now and then and let life
happen around you. Immerse yourself in the most mundane and routine
parts of your day and enjoy the boring little moments. You just
might be surprised by a little bee with a wonderful idea that
you've never seen before.