Mindful Gardening and Mindful Eating
That you have to break some
eggs to make an omelet is so true.
This weekend, we took out the circular herb
garden to make room for the expanded vegetable garden, and that hurt a bit. It
also hurt our backs, shoulders, arms, necks, and legs, since the circular
design was made entirely of rocks, and those had to be lifted one by one and
taken away. My husband and I are a bit sore today!
But the soil is now almost ready for
planting. One more tilling with manure, and we’re ready to start. It’s April 27
and everything should be in the ground in just over two weeks.
After much discussion, we’ve settled on the
foods we’re going to grow this season:
·
Eggplant
·
Tomatillos
·
Mung beans
·
Cucumbers
·
Tomatoes
·
Green beans
·
Summer
squash
·
Watermelon
·
Cantaloupe
·
Greens bed
(already growing): lettuces, dandelion, arugula, Italian parsley, kale
·
And there
are the apple and peach trees, and potted herbs
The weather is slowly warming – still some
chilly nights – and the days are noticeably longer. I’ve put the geraniums and
avocado trees outside. Ancho chili, holy basil, and Italian basil plants are
out during the day, in at night. After
Mother’s Day, they will be outdoors full time.
Now that we’re on our way to harvesting beautiful,
bountiful tables of fresh summer food, I’m dedicating even more practice to
mindful eating.
This is the Buddhist principle of honoring
our food and all its sources, as well as our bodies. Practicing mindful eating can
be a challenge when you have a spouse who (understandably) sees mealtimes as a
chance to connect with the person at the table and not just the food in the
bowl. But I’ve still been able to incorporate some of the practices of
mindfulness while sharing meals with my husband.
Here’s a good basic article on the subject:
Eating more food than we need to live has its
roots in displaced hunger and is a substitute for a hunger of a different kind
– spiritual and emotional longing, a yearning for connection, compassion, and
love. I grapple with this displaced longing, and so does everyone I know.
Every meal is a sacred occasion. We should
give lots of thought to what and how we eat, and be present in the moment –
every time we eat. We must be grateful for the food we receive, and acknowledge
that gratitude at every meal. Be silent, chew slowly, eat only what we need.
Thích Nhất Hạnh
speaks eloquently on the subject. His books, ‘How to Eat’ and ‘Savor’ are two
that I commend to you.
Namaste.
