Caribbean Milkweed

Here in the Caribbean, they grow BIG milkweed--about six feet tall with leaves as big as my hand. The purple-and-white star flowers are about an inch across, which is big for a milkweed.

Interesting that this toxic plant is named after the Greek god of medicine--Asclepius.

Sometimes we take a little bit of poison for a cure or as a prevention. Radiation and chemotherapy for instance. Or the blood thinner Coumadin, which is rat poison.

Several of my friends who have refused radiation have since sailed out into the ocean of life and death. Sometimes, Nature simply takes it course.

Butterfly Heaven

It's butterfly heaven out there in the flower garden. I'm not sure why this year is different, but five kinds of butterflies flit around the milkweed. The most showy is the yellow swallowtail, but other, browner butterflies are carousing among the flowers.

One of the primary qualities of heaven is joy. Another is serenity. These beautiful qualities are 2 of the seven factors of awakening.

Wake up to the beauty all around you. Wake up to joy. Wake up to serenity. And in turn, these qualities will wake you up to even deeper joy and serenity.

Monarch on a Zinnia Throne

I saw a monarch butterfly this afternoon, sipping nectar from a zinnia, not far from a stand of milkweed.

Yesterday, i found 2 monarch caterpillars on the underside of a milkweed leaf. Although i've heard that there aren't enough milkweed, i have plenty growing in my cutting flower beds.

When is a weed a weed? And when is a flower a flower? It's all in the eye of the beholder. It all rests with your personal judgment. Every judgment is a judgment, dividing the world into good and bad, yes and no.

Or we could practice non-judgmental awareness. "Oh. It's like this."

Monarch Butterfly Caterpillars

Milkweed has shown up in one of my flowerbeds that i use for cut flowers. Two weeks ago, i was pulling out the milkweeds when i spotted 3 one-inch-long caterpillars. I stopped pulling milkweed.

Today, i can officially say a monarch butterfly caterpillar is munching milkweed leaves.

Milkweed, which is a pest to me, is home to the caterpillars that metamorphose into monarch butterflies.

Aversion, the number one weed in my mental garden, is the catalyst that keeps my attention on the ease of the Dharma.

Weedy Milkweed

Milkweed is living up to its name--weed. Suddenly it's growing in several of my flower beds. Wha-a-a??? I want it to grow where i want it to grow, not where it wants to grow. I want to support monarch butterflies, just in case there are any around, but i don't want a milkweed garden. Hoo-boy. What to do?

I'm pulling the milkweed out of my flowerbeds, though the roots run deep and are beyond the reach of my shovel.

Our own roots of suffering run deep underground. Take your pick--greed, aversion, delusion, or maybe all three. Don't despair. Begin by being mindful of what your particular "weed" looks like, feels like, what it says in times of stress. Get to know the habit and habitat of your "weed." No need to feel guilty or beat yourself up. That just fertilizes the habit of aversion. Simply notice.

Notice what's growing in your garden.

Milkweed Seeds

Milkweed seeds were blowing today, drifting across the lawn like soft feathery snowflakes. Just yesterday, Julie said she received a bushel of milkweed pods from her husband for their 40th wedding anniversary--the best present she's ever received. They want to re-establish a milkweed patch at the edge of their lawn in order to support monarch butterflies which have been decimated by genetically modified crops. Monarch larvae feed on milkweed.

The highest form of generosity, called kingly generosity or monarch generosity, is the type of generosity that gives anonymously, without ever telling anyone. A sort of Secret Santa gift-giving, except that you never find out who your secret Santa is.

Putting money in someone else's parking meter, paying someone else's bill--some random act of kindness.

Julie's act of kindness is to establish a habitat for monarch butterflies.

Milkweed Roots

My friend Melissa spent 3 hours yesterday digging milkweed roots out of her flowerbed. First, she dug down about a foot into clay, which she doesn't otherwise find in her garden. Then she followed the root, which can run for up to 7 feet. All along the strand of root, buds are forming, which will become plants next year.

Our unskillful habits are also deeply rooted. Rather than becoming dismayed by all the weeds in your garden, choose just one to focus on and become acquainted with.

Lust? Impulse buying? Complaining? Impatience? Zinger opinions? Wishy-washiness?

Spend an hour, or 3, noticing when this habit arises. Don't just tug on it when it comes over you--that's like pulling up milkweed. The results are temporary, and the root is still sprouting below ground. Instead, pay attention and become interested enough that you follow the root feeling. Feel how this habit feels in your body. Relax into that uncomfortable place.

Milkweed is a little bit toxic and can cause dermatitis in some people. Notice if you are "allergic" to the emotion behind the habit.

Rooting out unskillful habits takes patience. It also requires renunciation of the path of least resistance. Neurons that fire together wire together, and our unskillful habits have laid down a well-worn neuronal pathway that is actually impersonal.

Beating up on yourself for an unskillful habit only lays down the tracks for beating up on yourself. What's the use of that?

Practice the kindness of mindfulness. With mindfulness, we weed our garden, one weed at a time.