© Linda Wiggen Kraft
When I was growing up the word practice meant music or sports done in repetitious and boring ways in order to be a better performer in the future. I didn’t like to practice and vowed never to have it be a part of my grownup life.
In my twenties I discovered a whole new meaning to the word practice. I began to meditate. With meditation I didn’t just practice something, I had a practice. My practice wasn’t about future performances, it was about my perfection in the now. Although it was a daily occurrence, it wasn’t boring or repetitious. It was, and is, my most cherished time of connecting with my essence and the essence of all life.
My daily practice still includes meditation. It has grown over the decades to include other ways to center myself, tap into life’s source, and creatively express that source in my life and work. Part of my practice is the garden, not just the act of gardening, but the garden experience. This experience is the framework upon which I build my life.
There is completeness of living with engaged and awakened senses, mind, heart and soul when we are in the garden. This completeness is a foundation that can be used as a daily practice and creative expression in all parts of life and work. Gardens call us to come into their embrace and enjoy the sweetness of life through all our senses. This seduction awakens our thoughts, feelings and every cell of our being through movement, touch, sound, scent, taste and sight. We move through the meandering paths of a garden; touching the cool grass, petals and leaves of the plants; hearing the wind, the songs of birds, bees, the earth; breathing in the fragrance of earth, flowers, air; tasting the smell, the ripeness of fruit; seeing the illumination of light as the colors and shapes emerge from the night.
We don’t just feel the physical nature of the garden, we feel the more subtle essences and energies of the earth, the stones, the soils, the plants, the waters, the sun the moon, the wind and all parts of the garden. Our senses also become the means to transcend and contact our source of being. We become aligned with a greater power and goodness of creation. We then express that power, goodness and source through the unique creativity of our thoughts and feelings as they manifest in movement, touch, sounds, breaths, tastes, and illuminations of our sight.
We don’t often feel the completeness of our body, mind, heart and soul like we do in the garden. But we can use that experience to form our daily practice of living in completeness. Begin each morning by coming into awareness of the six senses: movement, touch, sound, breath/smell, taste and sight. Awaken and engage each sense through each part of the day with the life affirming qualities of nature herself. Know that the flow of sensory experience inward and the flow of creative outward sensory expression is what the flow of life is all about. It can be part of our lives from the time we wake up in the morning, through all parts of our day, until the time we fall asleep at night. Our lives, our gardens, our homes and workplaces can all be designed to help us live life completely and creatively. Just begin by letting the garden experience be part of your daily practice.