Busy Lizzie Healing

As many people know, I don’t get too stressed about my house. I don’t feel unsettled or uncomfortable until I get things just how I want them, and I never have the problem of not being able to sit down and relax because some essential housework task is still outstanding. But when it comes to my garden, it’s a different matter. I have a tiny patch at the back of my house and, although it’s far from perfect, there are certain things that just have to be done.

Right now, life is busy and challenging. I’ve felt overwhelmed, and have to keep remembering that, for me, overwhelm is usually a sign that I am tired rather than having too much to do. There is a lot of uncertainty around my mother’s situation following her hip operation, and just at the moment I’m spending a lot of time flitting between our two houses, trying to keep on top of the bare essentials. Then there is Alfie. He is feeling a lot better after his operation but still likes to wake me up for an urgent trip into the garden at about 3am. Just what I need!

And every time I’ve walked through my garden to the back gate and my car, I have felt my energy pulled down by the state of the garden. Yesterday I managed to find time to mow the field that had replaced my lawn, and instantly felt a little more respectable. But I knew that mowing the lawn wasn’t enough and the edges needed doing, and my strimmer had given up the ghost last Summer. (In case strimmer is a UK word, just to explain, it’s a motorised grass trimmer for edges and small patches.) I wanted to buy a new one but didn’t think I had time today, until I saw there was one left in Tesco, when I popped in for groceries. It was only £13 and I thought, well, if it didn’t last very long that wouldn’t matter, because it had only cost a few pounds.

I returned home, enthusiastically following the instructions to put the strimmer together, and started to tidy up the garden. Unfortunately, the new appliance only lasted about seven minutes before it exploded, bits of plastic and springs bursting out in all directions. I decided not to let it get me down, to take it in my stride, and put all the bits back in the box ready to return to Tesco, with a plan to buy a ‘proper’ one for £30-40 in the next few days.

What this left me with, though, was a tiny pocket of time that I had ringfenced for doing the strimming. It turned out to be a blessing, as I had also picked up some Busy Lizzies (Impatiens) at Tesco and now had time to put some of them into pots. Aaaaahhhh, this was what I needed! Fingers in the compost, discarding weeds, tucking the little plants in nice and snugly and giving them a lovely water. I had forgotten how healing it can be for me to have that direct contact with nature, how time seems to be suspended, how present and calm I feel when I am dealing with plants. What’s more, I have a much prettier patio than I did this morning.

It’s just like baking for me. I need to remember that, when I am feeling pressurised, tired, wired, I will really benefit from the calm, repetitive and elemental activity of looking after my garden or baking a cake. It’s so easy to think, ‘I’m too busy,’ just as we can when we know we need to meditate but feel we can’t spare the time. On those days, we are told that it is more important than ever to meditate. Today, I found that engaging with being, having a little play and finding my joy in using my hands is just the same. I thought I didn’t have time for planting, but when the time showed up anyway, and I took the opportunity, the moments I spent doing that were a real gift. I’ve managed to get a lot done since then, happily and with ease, and have surprised myself by even finding the time to write this!

What does the trick for you? For me it is gardening or cooking, but you might find your essence, your joy, in art, music or something else. And do you make enough time for this activity, especially when life is challenging? Could you make extra time and how could you benefit? It’s worth a try. Please share; I’d love to know what works for you and how you factor it in to a busy life.