Gardening

I am at a difficult spot in my current painting. I have thrown everything I know into it and now I just have to try different things until the direction emerges. Every painting seems to have this place where I have to step out into the abyss. It's painful, takes everything in me to do it, but at the same time I love the process. It's the crux of the painting for me. But, I have to take breaks.

And so, I have been out in my garden. You may say that gardening is my main hobby, but hobby isn't the right descriptor. That implies dabbling in something that you can pick up or put down.  Growing up on a farm wove the cycles of the earth deep into my inner being.  When spring comes along I feel the awakening in my core. The soil in my fingers, the sound of the bees and birdsong, the energy of the growing plants put me in the absolute timeless present. It is as essential to my well being as breathing.  When I am in my garden, I open up in ways that I can't put into words. My thoughts go silent. I am very small, and feel my place in the complexity of nature. And when I am very lucky, fresh perspectives settle on me like a warm gentle rain. Rather than a hobby, I would call my gardening my zen practice. And any gardener knows that there is lots and lots of practice!