KEEP IT GREEN

By Patricia Conlin During this time of great upheavals, there are many lessons to learn that impact our future ability to adapt and thrive in our work and lives. What are we to do to move forward? How can we begin to see better days ahead you might ask? For some of us, there is a frantic effort to keep going and maintain the status quo that is leading to burn out and increased physical and mental health issues. For others, there is a paralyzing feeling hopeless and experiencing anxiety...which leads us to feel exhausted constantly and only make a marginal effort at work at home or with each other. But there is another approach, a middle path so to speak... I learned some valuable lessons from having a summer garden that have helped me enormously to stay strong and resilient in difficult times. A garden starts with a plan. During all the months of planting, weeding, harvesting and processing my food, I had time to reflect on the problems we are facing in our communities across Canada and how we can unite and work together to solve them. Here are some of the garden lessons that I would like to share with you: Planning: A garden project, like a business, life or community plan, needs to be detailed. Certain plants need more sun, more topsoil or to be separated from other plants. Rotating crops is critical for soil health. The current practice of monocropping is destroying our rich soils just like the practice of limiting view points and respectful dialogue is destroying our communities and stifling free speech and democracy. Gardens just like communities need healthy soil (free speech), a variety of plants (many different people and ideas) and constant attention and love. 2 Sowing: It is always incredible to witness tiny seed growing into large fruit bearing plants. Be careful which seeds you sow and how often you tend to them. Are you wasting time sowing only one kind of seed in difficult soil that may not grow? Are you providing the seeds the things it needs to grow well like sun and water… - a strong relationship built on trust and a mutual respect with regular value added contact? 3 Weeding: During the summer the weeds became terrible. But the weeds need to be removed as they choke out plants cause the harvest to suffer or even be killed. Like weeds in our garden, our own negative and limiting thoughts and emotions are “weeds” that keep us from achieving our true potential or even enjoying the blessings of each day. As I gardened this summer, I challenged my emotions and reminded myself to be grateful and keep going. As I plucked out my own “weeds”, I felt my energy and fighting spirit returning. I returned to the garden and saw the lesson of how pulling weeds allowed our plants to thrive. We need to all get rid of your own weeds so our lives can thrive again. Let’s stop feeling overwhelmed in small steps and focus on rebuilding momentum towards our goals. Your weeds could be self-limiting beliefs, a difficult relationship, feeling loneliness or depression or bad habits like eating too much junk food or not exercising. Whatever your weeds are right now, identify them and rip them out of your life! 4 Learning new Techniques in the garden: I have learned how to pickle, ferment and properly store vegetables and how to make delicious sauce from tomato crops in the past. I have learned how to freeze dry food for long term storage and how to cook new recipes using the bounty of the garden. And just like the plants in the garden, learning in life keeps us growing too. Whether it is a craft or wood-working project, a course or even reading a new book, keeping learning in our lives keeps us healthy and strong. I started learning archery and find it very fun. What are you learning right now? 5 Enjoying the Bounty: Sometimes in gardening, like in life, we get into work mode and forget to celebrate each day. When you bite into a fresh cucumber or savour a fresh bean, pea or tomato, you realize that it is worth all the effort. I made sure to enjoy the bounty from our summer garden by trying out new recipes each week with my veggies and taking time to “smell the roses” so to speak with the miracle of growing food. When it comes to our life , we need enjoy our bounty as well. Like celebrating a family birthday, appreciating the neighbour’s flowers, taking a walk in a serene forest or thanking the checkout clerk at the local grocery store-are all ways to stop into gratitude and enjoy the “bounty’ of our lives no matter what stresses might be impacting us. 6 Storing Food from the garden: With some of the extra food from my garden, I have looked into ways to store it for the winter. Vegetables like potatoes and onions can last several months if stored properly in a cool dark place We are all used to having grocery stores to provide a large and diverse supply of food and we have refrigerators and freezers to store it. But learning to store up during tough times is still a good lesson. When my father was young, his family was very poor as he grew up during World War 2. His family had a large vegetable garden and a cold cellar in the basement. If they didn’t learn how to properly store food in the winter, they wouldn’t have enough to eat. I remember him telling me how he learned to store potatoes in sand and how one year he allowed the potatoes to touch each other causing rot. This meant his family didn’t have enough potatoes for the winter and he never forgot the lesson. It is always a good lesson to store up during difficult times. We can reduce our overheads and expenses and learn to do things ourselves instead of outsourcing. We can avoid overspending and waste. Learning to store up a bit for tough times can include all bounty including money as well given the uncertainty in the economy. What areas of your life can you take care of by storing up this Fall? 7 Saving and using your own seeds: The miracle of gardening is the same as the miracle of life. Despite our moods, our doubts, the weather set-backs and predators of all kinds, there is always a miraculous bounty if you put in the hard work. What I learned from my experience as a gardener is that we often toss out our seeds instead of saving and using them in upcoming seasons. I started saving seeds a few years ago and it has made all the difference. Imagine taking a small portion of your beans and letting them dry out then saving the seeds and planting them the next season. This is unbelievably impowering and also saves us money and produces fresher bounty the next season. But most people throw out the plants including their seeds that they don’t want instead of saving them. This applies ourselves too as most people throw away their own “seeds” or ideas before they even make an effort to “plant” them or take action to make them happen! What “seeds” or talents do you possess that you can use to build success for next season? Think of what you are naturally good at, what you are passionate about, what interests you have. Then blend those “seeds” with your efforts. Plant your own seeds regularly and make sure to follow up with nurturing care. Having a summer garden has been enormously rewarding. Even though the work is significant, the joy is great as well. The garden taught me many lessons but first and foremost it taught me about the balance of all season. As members of a community here in Durham, we need to find the balance between the push to succeed and the joy of the journey, so that we can maintain momentum and plant the seeds of success for Durham and our own families in future seasons. “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished” Lao Tzu “ To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow” Audrey Hepburn