The Garden Diaries (Introduction)

While I’ve always loved nature, I wasn’t all that interested in gardening until my 40s when the concept of helping things grow suddenly seemed a miraculous endeavor. In addition, having daily access at my fingertips to fresh organic food is a component of living a feel-good life for me personally. Sometimes I even feel a hint of fairytale energy with the delicate little white butterflies flitting about, bees buzzing overhead, and squirrels bouncing from tree to tree. Nowadays, if I’m not literally in the garden, I peek out my window to bask in the visual glory of the greenery getting bigger by the day.

For many of us, nature is a spiritual entity, if not a spiritual practice. We might walk and ponder, sit and meditate, or lie back and stargaze. Some of us even tend to the land with hands of magical intent. My friend Farmer Ric, for instance - once a Sacramentan - now runs an organic farm in New Mexico providing clean, nutritious food to locals. This, I consider a high calling nowadays.

Yet not all of us have to take it so far. We are allowed to simply enjoy any semblance of nature we can find, even if we don’t have an intentional practice built around it. But recognizing the symbolism of nature – serenity, abundance, power, cycles – we can also all benefit from the lessons inherent within. And when it comes to Sacred Outdoor Space, a garden is a prime example.

Gardens are symbolic of our own peacefulness and creativity; serenity and peace are themselves Dharma concepts. Can you vividly imagine an inviting outdoor community space in which we can come together?! Can you feel the gentle breeze, hear the crickets, sense the healing powers of nature filling you up?
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[Image: Camellia Tree Through Window at Lion's Roar Dharma Center by Melanie Noel Light]

Designing Dreamy Space

{By turning space into a sacred personal place, you are conspiring with the universe...}

Creating magical, sacred, serene, inspiring, functional, or just plain pleasing space requires one thing mostly: A willingness to experiment. Because any plan – no matter how well thought out or organized – doesn’t always translate seamlessly into real life.

Often, what we think will look grand or work well simply doesn’t once in place. As well, what we might assume to be a bad design choice in theory often ends up surprising us in reality, delivering a boldly adventurous flair or titillating end results.

So any creative or dynamic endeavor is bound to wreak some temporary havoc on - or between those -immersed, whether it be husband and wife, business partners or roommates. While change is sometimes necessary, whether from a practical or soulful standpoint, that doesn’t mean it’s always easy. Learn to go with the sometimes chaotic and sometimes harmonious process of moving your sh*t around.

To aid the design (and sanity-maintaining process), it helps to keep some things in mind:

• First decide how the room needs to function, and just as important, how you want the room to feel.

• Understand that moving or changing one thing can set off a chain reaction resulting in the whole room being re-designed.

• Know that heads will butt, but it’s important to always be open to others’ ideas.

• Also be open to Plan B, Plan C, and Plan D if Plan A doesn’t go as planned.

• Before you shop, investigate all your spaces to see if you already have something that will work.

• Don’t be afraid to strip a room bare and start completely from scratch.

• Neutral furniture can be timeless and re-invigorated whenever desired with colorful pillows, throws and other decorative items.

• However, a bold statement piece can really leave an impression and doesn’t require extra decorative knick knacks. (Just be sure it’s something you love, love, love).

• Consider paint, wallpaper, molding, decorative beams, or all of the above. (Yes, even in the same space).

• White - if you love classic, clean lines - can be a great design choice (not just a generic default). And there are more shades of it than you can probably imagine.

• While there may be ‘better’ and ‘best’ in design concepts, there are no exception-less rules... except fir the One Golden Rule: You must love it because it’s your space within which to reside, rest, create and soar.

Decorating can feel like a serious endeavor. You’re transforming an existing pocket of space into something that makes you feel good and supports your desired life. That’s pretty big stuff, indeed. But keep in mind there ought to be an element of play as well. By turning space into a sacred personal place, you are conspiring with the universe to make it more magical… So the sky should be the limit when it comes to crazy, what-if ideas and far-out possibilities. That’s how genius emerges.

The Incredible Lightness of Getting Away

Do you need a vacation, or a vacation from your vacation?

Just the anticipation of an upcoming getaway is sometimes enough to help us get through a little more of what we thought we could no longer bear. We’ll push that much harder just to get through to the long-awaited time off and trip away. We may even be willing to lose sleep to get done what needs to get done, tie up those loose ends, and make our transition back that much (hopefully) easier.

I love the anticipation of vacation, even if it’s months away. I’ll make lists of things to pack, places to go and things to do before I set off on the horizon. When I have enough time in which to do this, I enjoy the planning and slow anticipation of a carefree lifestyle and renewed outlook. But often, this ends up being a luxury I can’t really afford, with time and serenity being somewhere off in the elusive distance.

Ideally, who doesn’t plan at least somewhat for vacation? We have to plan the destination, the getting there, getting around and getting back. We might plan activities ahead of time. Are we swimsuit ready, do we have the right suitcase, who will feed the pets, will we get all our work done at the office, and will we be able to foresee and sidestep any mishaps that may arise?
Even with all of this strategizing, we feel fortunate to be able to get away, don’t we? With our busy, demanding lives, vacation at times and to some can seem just a pipe dream, however. But I will argue that not making some time to ‘get away’ – whatever that means to you – actually hurts us more in the long run.

Whatever ‘high maintenance’ qualities vacation can take on, think about the demands of our daily lives. There’s so much coming and going, preparation and expectation, consequence-handling and reacting. When one problem is solved or dissolved, we move right onto the next one. Many of us feel responsible for everything around us going smoothly while we’re being pulled in multiple directions at one time. We probably don’t feel we have much – if any – of a cushion to fall back on, whether in terms of money, support or sanity. To ‘drop it all’ for a week or so can even bring on more stress and anxiety.

But again, I argue - To question not just how we got here, but why we’re still here (in this frantic pace) is precisely what the subconscious will do while you’re “away”. That part of you that knows what joy and peace and wellbeing feel like will shed its business suit and languish in every moment of free time you allow it. It will frolic, laugh and play, siesta in the afternoon, and buy silly souvenirs. But when you’re not paying attention, it will do some of the most important work - It will evaluate your life, hone in on what matters most, and point to what’s getting in the way.

This dialogue between our frantic self and our serene self is crucial in the balancing of our lives. And since vacation is the serene self’s time to shine, the frantic self (usually willingly) steps aside. Yet it is only by working together – being whole - that we can see the grains of wisdom falling through our butterfly net or out of the vast cosmos. And the easy feelings that vacation eventually brings relaxes us enough to let the clarity and meaning in.

“The best news of all is that we never really lose vacation mind,” Stephen says. It is entirely possible to feel peace in the midst of the anxiety and whatever else is going on; we don’t have to always remove the anxiety first. With vacation, Stephen adds, “You’re rolling to a stop rather than putting on the breaks. You are simply enjoying yourself naturally, rather than trying to force it.”

So have you taken a break from your typical life lately or are you at least planning to?

A new perspective can truly be a blessing, even if we simply replace a fraction of our usual daily routine with a dose of vacation bliss. What can really be so important that we don’t take care of our deepest needs? Whose world are we trying to keep spinning atop those various plates and dancing puppets? And if it’s our most personal, intimate world that’s got us so uptight and anxious, now’s the chance to rethink, re-focus and recreate. Starting someplace exotic.