Re-Arranging a Flower Bed

I'm beginning to tear apart a flower bed. Hmm. And just as it's looking pretty good--if you think overgrown looks "good."

The slope on the east side of my house faces southeast. The snow melts there first, and it's obviously so close to the house that i want to terrace it to make a kitchen garden.

That's the vision. But first, the taking apart of what is there.

Sometimes, in our lives, we'd like to rearrange our personalities. I have a couple of friends who are pretty good at re-inventing themselves every few years.

Although we may change the outer trappings--our job, our relationships, our house, or our location--our inner habits and character have been hard-wired. Laying down new tracks requires intention, effort, and energy. Part of that effort is mindfulness.

We may have a list of quirks we'd like to weed out of our personalities--anger, stinginess, or impetuousness, for instance--and a list of traits we'd like to transplant--kindness, generosity, or mindfulness.

We begin with simple awareness. "Oh, this is what it's like." And we investigate the effects on ourselves and others. "When i'm irritable...."

I'm taking mindfulness out to the garden now to dig out plants one by one.