Salve of the Weary

There are many reasons we gardeners garden not the least of which is potent and simple things like beauty, food, and exercise.  I find the strong pull for calmness, order and sanity right up there at the top.

Because most of the social media focuses on a constant bombardment of bazaar, obscene or frightening behavior, it can directly or subtlely cause outrage, worry, sadness or tenseness.  In being proactive, we can minimize the effects by doing something about a situation or by ignoring.

What do we do with the residue effects of the negative impact from social media?  We garden.  Too simple?  Not really.  It's long been acknowledged (by me at least) that being close to the land is a way to work out problems and minimize negative outside influence.

Letting the balm of nature work on my mind is one reason I don't garden with music, newscasts or books.  The only exception for me is when I'm on a riding lawn mower.  Mowing is not a balm to me but a task to be completed as quickly and easily as possible.  I can work in the garden for hours while rethinking or meditating on something and at the end my mind and body are refreshed.

It's like pulling out the weeds of the mind, throwing them away and having a clean fresh space.  How blessed we are to be able to let go of making a living, doing household tasks or the responsibility of caring for others by a little gardening.  How blessed we are to live in a land where immediate survival isn't primary every second of the day.  In this land of blessings, how sad the cream of the over indulged and hyped rises to the top of social media.  For me, that cream has curdled and is thrown out of my thoughts while in my yard and gardens.  I'm so grateful I've been truly blessed to have and enjoy these things.