Finding joy in these dark times

There is always something good out there that will give you joy, however dark the world is around us all. One of the things that gives me joy is my tiny garden. I live in a housing complex for older people so we have fairly large grounds around us with lots of trees and a small brook running along the bottom of the area. Some of us have found a spot to have a small garden and I am one of those people.

My son has a large garden and grows most of his own plants from seed. This year he ran out of space to house all the seedlings so a large number came to me. I have half hardy plants on my windowsill including some pepper plants and I have two mini greenhouses outside which are full of plants and I have trays of plants outside the greenhouse. Some of these plants will go in my little garden but some are being ‘sold’ to raise money for the Brain Tumour charity. There are chrysanthemums, echiums, lots of different rudbeckias, inulas and french marigolds. There will be others later as they become ready for planting.

‘Sold’ is the wrong word as people re being asked to give a donation to the charity. As the plants are ready to go outside, they will be offered to others for a small donation to the charity. My son and I also planted a wildflower garden last year and this is now coming to life. There are several plants growing strongly already including poppies, and wild carrots.

But being out there in the early morning, opening up the greenhouses gives me so much joy. I can stand there in the quiet and listen to the birds singing, robins and blackbirds mainly but there are other birds. I love the early mornings especially when the sun is shining. There is a feeling of peace out there and joy at being alive. I hope that those undergoing the terror of wars and natural disasters will find somewhere where they can feel peace. Just standing outside and closing your eyes can bring that peace feeling to you. Peace is inside you and is always there if you look for it.

My greenhouses

Staying home alone

A couple of weeks ago now I was told that because of my age I was expected to stay at home for 12 weeks. Last week everyone else was told to stay at home for 3 weeks so no-one is out and about apart from those doing essential shopping, collecting prescriptions and dog walking and maybe a few runners. Historians have asked that people and especially children, keep a diary of these times so that future generations can see how we coped or not. I do keep a short entry diary but my blog can serve as a record as well.

So what am I doing with this time at home alone? I am trying to keep to my daily routine for first thing in the morning as I think this is important so you won’t find me running around in my PJs! That might be a generational thing though. I was brought up to get dressed every morning after a quick wash and before breakfast. I was then ready for the day. So I have continued with this. I have a garden and have been growing seedlings indoors but putting them outside to harden off ready for planting later, but bringing them in at night. They need a lot of water too and after all the rain we had previously the ground is drying out and the pots need watering every day. I have also planted some pea seeds in a large pot so I will have garden peas to eat later in the year. I am going to plant some potatoes which sprouted before being eaten. They will be planted in a large canvas bag I bought some time ago for just this.

I have spent a little time playing my piano; my fingers only allow me about 15 minutes before they complain but I do enjoy it. I have been working on family history for a friend and also doing more meditation. I sit and watch the birds and butterflies and this is a form of meditation for me as well as the more traditional meditations. I have found that chatting to friends on the phone is important and as for those of us who live alone it is more important that texting or emailing although both of those are good as well. But they are not the same as hearing someone’s voice over the phone. I am also back to jigsaw puzzles. I love these and they can pass the time very quickly. But I am grateful for the fact that so far I am not ill in any way, physically or mentally and am coping although that could change over this long period of staying home alone.

So how are you coping? Are you catching up with old projects or finding new ones? I’d love to read your comments.

Taking action

First of all I would like to thank those who responded to my blog questions last week. It was interesting to read the various ways of looking at ‘ancestral memories or what’ and I am much happier with my interpretations now.

So today I want to write about taking action. It is fine to talk about what we should do and how to do it but actually doing it is a bit different. I know many who sit there and say ‘Well I’m alright so why do anything?’ To me this is not the right way to go. Thinking that you are OK is not enough. You have to think about others too as well as the environment which supports us.

Yesterday I spent a couple of hours at a fete in one of my nearby villages where a local group for climate change had a stand. We had a petition to sign to give to the parish council, asking that all new build homes were fitted with solar panels. We also had a petition for our borough council asking it to declare a climate emergency. There are quite a few cities and towns and some counties that have already done this. But even though the emergency has been declared you can’t stop there. Changes have to be made and we all have to make them not just sit back and let others get on with it. It is very easy to say we have a climate emergency then sit back and do nothing.

I am pleased to see that the supermarkets are starting to do their bit by getting rid of plastics and offering boxes for recycling stuff. So what can you do? Apart from doing your best with the recycling, you can spread the word to others. I recently wrote a book about changing yourself and the world around you. I have been giving these away to interested readers and told them to pass the book on when they have read it. But not everyone can or wants to write a book. I use the bus service to get to and from town so I chat in the bus queue. It is easy to bring the subject of plastics up and get people talking. It is like planting a seed then watching it grow.

So what are you doing? Not just about recycling but about other ways of living, food, clothes, and so on. I have used this photo before but if you have a garden then making it bee friendly is a good start.

Gardening

There is so much chaos in the world this week that I decided to do some gardening to get away from it all. I have quite a large garden but a lot of it is grass. The back garden is raised above the level of the house so it is easy to work in as I don’t really have to bend down.

I have weeded, moved plants around and generally got my hands dirty. There is something about working in the soil with plants which are growing and therefore alive. I talk to them and encourage them to grow and they have done. Most of my plants in the garden at the moment are perennials so grow every year and they spread too. It is good to see how much they have spread over the winter months and many are already flowering. What joy this brings to my heart.

I then decided to fork over a small patch near the bird feeder. I recently moved some plants here after splitting them. They seem to be settled are starting to spread again.. After I started digging the birds rushed off but then settled in the nearby hedge watching me so they could pick up any worms that appeared. So I had company for that part of my gardening work.

Then it was time to water as the ground was quite dry. I have a lot of plants in pots as well and they needed water too. My little greenhouse has some pots in it which also needed watering. Salad greens are sprouting as are the peas. I am looking forward to eating them later in the year.

But what joy and satisfaction I gained doing this work. I had worked with the element of Earth and then Water and Air was all around me. My inner Fire gave me the energy to do the work so a good day with the elements.

Here is a photo of one of the plants in my garden.

Earth, Air, Fire and Water

Some years ago I was asked to give a talk on the four elements, Earth, Air, Fire and Water, to people who may not know anything about them. So I put on my thinking cap and looked at things we did every day that if done with mindfulness especially, were a way of working with the four elements.

Each person was given a small booklet about these elements. It contained some information about the element and some exercises that could be done anywhere at any time, and also four small crystals, one for each element.

I was thinking about the Earth element the other day when I was working in the garden. I was doing some dead-heading and pulling out weeds. What a wonderful way to work with the earth. I found it very healing and therapeutic. It was a physical and practical act and to me this was so much an Earth element way to work. It renewed my connection with the earth too and made me more determined to do what I could to stop pollution and other things detrimental to our planet.

So now let’s look at the element of Air. If we were outside on a windy day my mother used to say the wind was blowing the cobwebs away from around us. Cleansing the aura as I now know. Air is connected to inspiration, new ideas, messages, movement, breath of life and new beginnings. Standing outside on a breezy day is a good way to connect with Air. Imagine yourself flying and see how that feels. Did you ever climb trees or walls when you were young, and then jump off? How did that feel? Just imagine that now though not do it practically!

I’m leaving the Fire element until last so now what about the Water element. I love to be near running water. I see it cleansing the earth as it moves along. It is receptive to my thoughts and I link it with compassion, trust, love and wisdom. When you take a shower, your are cleansing yourself and the aura around you. Think about it as you shower. You always feel better after a shower, or after walking by water especially running water or the sea. We often say ‘go with the flow’ when talking about problems in our daily lives. So flow like the water. You can imagine yourself floating on calm water with a night sky above. Then write down how you felt.

So lastly, the element of Fire. Fire can transform things as you can easily see if you burn something like a sheet of paper. So it changes things and cleanses. It is also about purpose and growth and rebirth. I like to think of our inner fire, the force that enables us to do things, to accept ourselves and to transform our lives when needed. I like to watch the flame of a burning candle. Try it and see how you feel .

Of course, this is a simple way of looking at the elements but it is a good place to start. The druid path takes you deeper into the elements and deeper into yourself but if you know nothing about them then start simply.

A good week

The sun has been shining and I am sure that makes us all feel better. I certainly do and getting out in the country park has helped as well. Planned visits to the doctors have also brought me what I needed, an injection in my wrist next week to help me cope with the arthritis which makes writing and doing anything in the home difficult. So all good overall.

Yesterday was spent in the garden with my son, mowing the grass and planting more plants. A walk in the country park followed, me on my scooter though but still very enjoyable.

I have watched the hedge get greener over the last week and it is now almost completely green. The birds are busy chasing each other and building nests. There are butterflies too, small tortoiseshells and some white ones that might just be female orange tips. While cutting the grass a frog jumped out. He had a lucky escape but the area where he was is very marshy and in fact was almost a pond. My son saw a grass snake in the country park and the trees there are in full blossom like the one in my garden.

It is a wonderful time of the year when nature awakes and starts to show us her glory. I feel so blessed to be in this new home and to be able to enjoy it as well. Being in nature is so nurturing and revitalises my soul. I hope you enjoy being in nature as much as I do. Today will be a lazier day but I shall spend time watching the birds and butterflies in the garden and enjoying doing just that. The simple pleasures in life are often the best.

A mixed week

Despite the dreary weather and the onset of sciatic pain there has been a lot of good things happening this week some of which have brought me great joy. As usual after moving house there is always a lot of paperwork to do and this time has been no exception. I am still working on this as some change of address letters can only be done via the post.

I have bought myself a new mobility scooter which will be used a lot while I have this intense sciatic pain. The scooter will enable me to get out even if it is showery so I hope to get down to the country park soon which is not too far away.

I have managed to get all my new plants that were ready, planted in the garden where some of them shot up several centimetres the following day as they enjoyed the space around them. I still have about thirty plants in pots which are not yet ready for the garden itself.

My main joy has been sitting and watching the birds in the hedge, some of whom have built a large nest. I think this is the pair of blackbirds who are busy getting worms from the garden. One day a butterfly visited and I managed to get a photo through the window. It is not as clear as it would be had it been taken outside but it is quite a good photo anyway. At least I think so.

At six o’clock this morning the sun was shining but it has disappeared and there is a mist. It does look as if it will improve though and if it does I shall test my new scooter and head for the country park. But whatever the weather does I can enjoy watching the wild life through my windows. Nature heals as well as giving pleasure so I hope you all find time to enjoy being out there too.