Empty Mind

by Carla Royal on May 12, 2010

Garden Girl Empty Mind

I caught a glimpse of an idea for today’s post but weariness blurred it.   It’s the good kind of weariness.  The kind that leaves you sore and tired, but happy.  Do you know the feeling?

My brain is rather empty…well, partially.  It’s nice because my mind is often overactive.  I practice meditation and yoga to help calm it.  I am doing a lot of gardening and barn work with my new caretaking job.  The work seems to relax my mind almost as much as meditation, if I approach the work with a contemplative attitude.  It is quite satisfying, though endless.

I think of the Tibetan Buddhist monks who create sand mandalas. They create beautiful, intricate sand designs that they destroy upon completion.  It’s a ritual “symbolizing the transitory nature of material life”.  I like the idea…the reminder.  Impermanence is a fact of life.  When I accept that fact, instead of struggling against it, I am grounded and at peace.  I also experience much greater freedom.

I can count on the weeds returning and I can welcome them as reminders to practice nonattachment.  I can approach my work contemplatively and enjoy more peace as I empty my mind.

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  • Elora

    I love weeding. Not that I’d like to do it all the time, but I, like you, Carla, find the messages–impermanence, reordering, nurturing, sustainability–all wrapped into the tidy package of cleaning the garden! Yes, I am quite aware that it must all be done again…attempts to quash weeds permanently, with mulch and weed killers and straw–only defeat me in the end, as the weeds seem to find their way through it all and poke up through it all. They mock my idea that it would be “all” done! I’ve come to “accept” the mandate that weeding is recurrent and emblematic of our own need to be “weeded” occasionally, gradually (and carefully) cultivating and fertilizing the things we want and gently casting aside the things we’ve identified as weeds. Glad you’re happy and at ease with the big move. It’s good to see you joyful there among friends and family!

    Elora

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