Secrets of the Garden revealed by Paulette Williams
There are many things to be learned about people from observing the garden.
1. Search Deeper- Look for that which is not obvious- The truth is often lost in judgment- Because judgment requires categorizing (classify, catalog, labeling). It gives an answer before real research has taken place. Consider the snail or slug
2. You must be willing to get your hands dirty. Through Jesus God stuck his hands deep in our mess. For the best results good soil must be mixed with manure to produce the most beautiful plants and vegetables. Even soil that is mostly clay can produce when you add peat and manure.
3. Some plants are so tenacious for life that they will grow in the worst soil with very little water. Some plants will grow in little or no light
4. Others do not like to be babied. They will die if you over water or pamper them. They prefer to be left alone.
5. The sweetest berries are growing closest to the ground. Even though we work hard to climb to the top in life.
6. If you create a garden in an area where there has not previously been one, other living beings will come to share it. Butterflies, birds, frogs, squirrels, etc. will find their way to the garden.
7. The best way to keep weeds out of the garden is to create density with plants. Do not give weeds room to grow in your garden. Weeds represent unresolved problems with others. Unforgiveness will cause weeds to grow in the garden. Even weeds have a value to the compote pile. Nothing is wasted.
8. It is impossible to be anything but present while working in the garden. You can spend hours while focusing on planting, pruning, watering, caring for plants.
9. Learning that pruning is a very needful and positive thing for the plants was a difficult one for me. I did not want to cut on them. They are alive and cutting away dead parts produced greater growth, larger and more frequent flowering. Amazing results from an otherwise adverse procedure. We also have witnessed the growth from pruning in the lives of men, many of which we would not have agreed to if given an option. (Consider the butterfly Iris)
10. Being is the greatest reward of staying in the garden. Detaching from the cares of this world and focusing on the life that is around you and in you. Realizing that you are part of it all and connected to it all is so freeing. Enlightenment and heightened awareness come from being present. The futility of the capitalistic world we spend much of our lives trying to find our place in moves far away from us. The bills show up so it is difficult to completely ignore it. But when I am in a place of oneness with my Father, questions come to mind, such as who started charging us to use water that none of us can claim ownership of on this planet. I am buying land, but my Father owns the land, so who am I buying it from.
11. Staying In the garden is a state of mind, or shall I say a state of being out of the mind. In the mind you will remember the past or project into the future. In the present there is peace that is inconceivable in the mind. In the present there is perfection. In the present there is healing. It is impossible for there to be any abnormality in that place. The more time we spend present the more opportunity for creativity and new ideas to be brought into the world from the heart of God. Direction for life’s challenges, guidance through uncomfortable situations, leading into life prosperous transactions and relationships come from the presence. How wonderful that we have found it not a difficult transition. It is as easy as concentrating on your breathing and not looking for the extraordinary nirvana event. You may find it, but the only goal if there is one is oneness with God which is within. It will filter over into every area of your life. Physically, relationally, eternally, the benefits are immeasurable.