What Gets You Into the Garden?

At exercise class yesterday, Hilary said she would rather exercise for 4 hours than garden for 4 hours. And then some of us are inveterate gardeners.

What is it, exactly, that gets you out in the garden? The solitude? The planting? The weeding? The artistry of the garden? The harvesting? The outdoors? Some people love one thing, but don't like the other aspects of gardening. For me, it's dividing my plants so that i can have the joy of giving them away. I do get the side benefit of the artistry of pleasing balance and color combinations.

It's different strokes for different folks. While teaching meditation yesterday at the county jail, one inmate told another, "You have to find an approach, a meditation that appeals to you." Then M explained to me that her friend was detoxing from addiction, so her friend's body was very frazzled. "So she might prefer meditation in motion, such as tai chi, qi gong, yoga, or any of the martial arts," i said.

M nodded. "I have anxiety," she said. "So i need calming meditation."

Each person has to discover their own special blend of meditation and exercise.