JUNE 2008

I’ve been reading about Zuni (a Southwestern Indian tribe)’s Fetishes this week. A fetish is a carved or found symbol used to center oneself while meditating and preparing for an activity.-- For example a hunt or a prayer, or a difficult activity. One of the times good for meditation, mentioned by the author, is while doing gardening. This reminded me of an experience I had the fall before we moved to Virginia. I had been out mowing the back lawn and lay down in the freshly cut grass, looking up into the blue sky. These words came to my mind and I wrote them down.

I Lay
In grass,
Damp,
Green—
Newly mown;
Watching
Clouds
Traipse
Across the sky
I thought
About
Next year--
And heat,
Concrete
Supposed to be Adventure.

You can tell I wasn’t very excited. I think I must be a
control freak. Going someplace new and unknown meant I wouldn’t be in control of my life.
Being clear across the country would give me less opportunity to advise and
help my children and the rest of my family. City traffic and apartment life
have also restricted my activities.
But today I went out into my city yard ( a large patio with 48 containers filled with flowers, vegetables and herbs. I found myself meditating about my life. in my garden.


Things I Learned in My Garden
1.Grass grows even in cement
2.Sometimes you can’t tell a weed from a flower until you
let it grow a little.
3.Weeds are easier to pull out if they have small roots.
4. Cats still try to camouflage themselves rolling on the cement,
But don’t get as dirty as when they roll in the dirt pile.
5. Good healthy plants take work, sun and lots of water.
6.Plants grow better if you prune them.

How can I apply the things I learned in my garden to my life?
The unexpected happens
We need to give situations and people a chance to see if we want them in our lives.
Sins are easier to get rid of before they grow big roots.
Look under the first layer before you judge
Life needs nurturing
Trials help us grow.
I have a Cosmos plant on my doorstep that was a volunteer. It grows in a crack in the cement. It reminds me of two things. My husband always tells me to “Bloom where I Am planted”. And a song I learned in Primary which admonishes us to brighten our little corner of the garden –try, try try (Little Purple Pansy)
President Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985): “If we looked at mortality as the whole of existence, then pain, sorrow, failure, and short life would be calamity. But if we look upon life as an eternal thing stretching far into the premortal past and on into the eternal post-death future, then all happenings may be put in proper perspective” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball [2006], 15).
I hope this month you will take the time to focus, meditate and plan something to enrich your lives or the lives of other.
Wendy Hauer.