It is a glorious day with sunshine and birdsong as I sit by my pond and let my thoughts wander with my morning coffee. I think the fish are spawning / courting since they are chasing each other and rubbing their sides together. The pond looks good and is running well. Much has bloomed in my one week absence, especially the azaleas, sending their aroma over the airwaves.
Yesterday as I started my focus in the yard it seemed that everything presented a life lesson to me. The pond was clearer, the cleaner having done its work. I could see all 5 fish, and what satisfied joy I held as I watched them eat the food I provided - the joy of giving nurturance. I finally noticed there was one plant that had fallen in and needed rescueing, and I had lots of slime I could pull out of the water. I felt sure there was a message here about how you can't just put something out there and presume it will all be OK. You need to do your work too. The word diligence came up for me, and really struck home when I saw the snowball tree beside the pond. All may look well on the surface and not be well at all. This tree is so full of aphids that the leaves are curled under and the few flower clusters stunted. It was likely sick before I left but went unnoticed. Yes, diligence is required when being a steward or caregiver for life forms. I know I slipped up on this with my kids, probably alot. I admire moms who are all over their kids about stuff. My kids lives were more closed to me than in many cases, I think, and I allowed it to be that way. They liked that I didn't interfere alot, but I am sure there were also negative consequences.
As I sprayed safers soap on the tree's leaves, careful not to get this in the pond, I found quite a few garden snails. I usually don't mind them since they are everywhere around and generally don't seem to feed on leaves I want to eat, or cause serious harm to my vegy plants. But this time upon seeing them congregated on this poor struggling tree, I considered them opportunists. I had the distinct feeling that they were there because the tree was sick. I relocated them as I went along and wondered about people who could fall into this category. You know, the ones who take advantage of another person's situation.
Weeding ofcourse gave me more thoughts of how this action could be an analogy for life - how we have to weed out unhealthy patterns, relationships, habits and characteristics. As I carefully tried to save the tiny lettuces from amongst the weeds, I thought how the opposite was true also. We need to guard and protect the good and important things in life from their very beginnings and nurture them along.
Perhaps a gift of Khilvat was being more conscious of and able to interpret the lessons that nature and gardening offer.
Radha
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