Several years ago, i planted an asparagus bed--a row on both sides of a 4-foot wide strip. Since asparagus requires 3 years of growing before you can pick it, my inner gardener couldn't resist that long bare bed in the middle going to waste. I started using the middle as a holding bed.
Last week, my gardener Elisha and i spent an hour and a half digging a 5-foot tall redbud, with an extensive root system, out of the asparagus bed. In the process, Elisha dug up 3 asparagus roots and wondered what those thick spider-y root globs were.
This over-planting happens in our life too. We clear away a space for meditation, yoga, or tai chi, then we overplant that time with a few extra winks in the morning, an errand that needs to be run, or spending our precious time social networking. Pretty soon, our time for meditation is overgrown with the busy-ness of life.
Begin again, as i am doing with my asparagus bed. Clear some space, some time in your day, and resolve to keep this time-space clear.
Like asparagus, it may take some months or even years before you harvest the fruits (or vegetables) of your meditation practice. Meanwhile you not only have something that will sustain you, you have a beautiful background of calmness. After it shoots up, asparagus turns into a tall, airy, ferny plant that makes a nice background plant.
Meditation gives your mind a beautiful background from which to see the world as it really is.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment