LIFE, AS A FRAME OF MIND; TWO PEOPLE'S VIEWS

I have just read 2 lovely things, one is Greg's recent post on Utah Valley Gardens and the other is Pattie's on Foodshed Planet.

Sometimes, like in the middle of this dreadful water crisis we are having here, despite some recent rain, it all seems way too hard. Too hard to do anything, really. I read about all the beautiful gardens and vegetables growing all over the world and I even read the posts I write about my own garden, but when I stop to think about it - the whole world is going down the drain faster than we gardeners can plug the holes. I think I spend far too much time in contemplation of these things and even more time trying not to think too much about them! One is as bad as the other, in terms of usefulness, and sometimes I just want to give up on this whole scene...but then what would I do?? It is a vicious circle, life, isn't it - I am already doing what it is people do when they 'give up on the madness of the world' . Funny. Well, maybe interesting would be a better word.

Then I read Greg's inspiring post about what it means to be a gardener, and a grower of food and beautiful flowers and be there, a part of the life of the planet, and it all seems like a worthwhile thing to do again. Here is a tiny excerpt, but please, read the rest.....

..."Gardening is a frame of mind, a lifestyle if you will that involves much more than just sticking a plant in the ground and expecting it to give you the bountiful harvest of your dreams. You will become a steward of your chosen plot of earth, a caretaker with the potential to encourage new life that will provide food not just for you and your family but for all of the surrounding wildlife, including the pest insects. The responsibility is great. If you can take it to heart and learn that every animal, reptile, bird and insect, beneficial as well as pest, plays a part in the grand scheme that we call nature, then you will soon feel what it is to be a gardener, a provider of life...."

Thanks, Greg.... Nice.

And while you are here, take a few minutes to read what Pattie from Foodshed Planet has to say in this post about the journey her family is on and the wonderful changes that they are all going through. I have seen Pattie struggling with the 'vibes' of living in the slow lane, trying to connect with them in a fast world , with a family in tow. It is not without some pride that I look at what she has done to steer her family on, believing that somewhere, sometime, somehow they would reap the intangible rewards of such a life, with the encouragement of other bloggers seeming to be the only help she was getting in the beginning. Now her horizons are vast and her experiences of the journey over the last couple of years, as recorded on her blog, a living testament to what we can all achieve, little by little, by having the courage to go beyond our safety nets and live a bit outside the square, together....

Inspiring, Pattie....Truly.

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