SECRET GARDEN
Vengefulness sows salt, scorches earth;
bitterness is a blight.Well-rotted, buried and forgotten
- grudges make good manure.Weed out lingering resentment
- lest it smother finer growth.
Above all, nurture what is below all;
tend the soil as if one's soul.
To cultivate what?
Our own garden!
From antiquity to the
present, gardening has
been widely regarded as an activity that is immensely
beneficial to both mind and body.
It promotes a healthy degree of physical exercise, permits
mental relaxation or solace, and encourages individual
creative expression.
In a communal setting such as allotment gardens, it allows for
an easy-going blend of social interaction with individual
endeavour.
From a Taoist
perspective, garden and gardener can relate as partners, each
with their own purpose or agenda, but acting in symbiosis.
A garden is 'a gift that keeps on giving' - but taking as
well: the kind of mutual, reciprocal flourishing that lies at
the heart of Taoism.
Including its benefits to and from wildlife, and the
nourishment provided by its produce, a garden can indeed be a
'blessed plot'.
