When I was in my 20’s, the medium we hired to rid the front hallway of Victorian era ghosts said she saw me in the future with my hands, joyful, deep in the dirt. I scoffed even though she had indeed cleared our hallway of ghosts. Gardening never seemed like a good idea. It looked like hard work on hot days and a whole lot of fussiness. When I finally did take it up, I did so purely because I wanted a garden in my backyard. I was faking at being a gardener; I was all about planning and expecting, measuring and calculating. My brow was furrowed a lot. And, I was right, it was hard work on hot days and a whole lot of fussiness.
But now, I’m a gardener. A real one. I crave the earth under my toes, my hands, joyful, deep in the dirt. My plants give me a lot of leeway but they help me with this need I have for my offerings to be received, fully, and without judgement. And this other need I have for my offerings to be put to use. They are teaching me that it’s never about achieving or accomplishing - it’s about staying in the garden as long as you can.
