Getting Earthy, Staying Grounded

In the last few weeks, I have spent many days being my husband's sidekick in his gardening business. I have gathered sticks, pruned plants, weeded, raked leaves, driven a ride on mower, filled many trailers loads with branches and found muscles I didn't realise I had. I have worked in the rain, made friends with dogs and visited beautiful parts of where I live that I didn't know were there.

Before I finished up my ministry placement, I viewed the possibility of working with Guy as a needed financial arrangement. I now see it quite differently. I hadn't realised how removed I had become from the earth. Yes, I did spend time in my own garden when time allowed, but there is something profound about getting your hands dirty, feeling the wind on your face and getting soaked through for more than a few hours. It is a very spiritual experience.

Feeling the earth between your fingers, cutting away dead wood to make way for new life and nursing the scratches and bruises that hold those experiences for longer has a way of grounding me that I need so desperately at the moment. In the other people's gardens, the ego is somehow stripped away and I am left with just me, the earth and the ground of my being (and Guy, of course). With all the talk of spiritual practices and getting the right balance, it seems to me that we may have overcomplicated things. Getting back to the earth has helped me to stay centred and grounded during this time of uncertainty.