Garden life and presence have become an important part of my days, even though I never thought they would. The sun appeared within the first ten minutes of me being awake, and that does something to my mood.
🇸🇪 Read this post in Swedish: Trädgårdsliv och närvaro
Garden Life and Presence in the Greenhouse
Today I am going to repot my pepper and chili plants. I should have done it a long time ago, but today it will happen, whether I end up getting rained on or sunburned. I have a greenhouse to work in, so there are no excuses left. The soil is there – I bought it two weeks ago – and the pots have been here all along.
Today is the day, and I am the one who is going to do it, regardless of the weather.
Garden Life and Presence Among Tomatoes and Cucumbers
Yesterday I spent some time in the greenhouse. I trimmed my cucumber plants and my tomatoes, thinning out some of the leaves. I had forgotten to remove the side shoots, and they had grown quite a lot. It is obvious how quickly things grow this time of year.
I am also thinking about buying some flowers and flower seeds. Maybe making a small project out of it. Starting them in the greenhouse and then planting them outside. I do not know if it is too late or if it will still work, but perhaps it is worth trying.
I do not really understand what has happened to me.
I used to see only all the work that needed to be done in the garden. Now I can walk outside and simply enjoy the space. Pull a weed here and there. They are there, and they are allowed to be there. Some weed will always find its way through the soil.
The strange thing is that it does not bother me anymore.
Instead, it makes me feel good to be out there. To get soil under my fingernails and watch the little project I am working on become part of something bigger. A part of the garden.
Yesterday I picked a few flowers and put them in a vase. It stands under the pavilion and brightens the space. Such a small thing can make a difference.
Garden Life and Presence with Watercolors
Yesterday I also painted a small watercolor picture. It was not a masterpiece, not at all. It was mostly colour on paper. I do not know the technique, and watercolors behave very differently from the oil paints I enjoy working with.
But perhaps the result is not what matters.
Perhaps it is the moments.
The same thing happens when I go out into the garden. The tomatoes become whatever they become. The flowers grow, or they do not. The watercolor turns out well, or it does not.
But for a little while, I was there.
With my hands in the soil or paint on my fingers. Without any pressure to achieve something special.
I think it is those moments I am looking for, not the final outcome.
And perhaps that is why I enjoy being out there so much these days.
Reflection
It is strange how life changes us without us really noticing when it happens.
One day you find yourself standing there with soil under your fingernails, wondering how the garden became a place of rest instead of a project. Maybe it is not the flowers, tomatoes, or peppers that attract us. Maybe it is the feeling of being left alone for a while. The chance to do something with our hands while our minds get to rest.
I think many of us are searching for exactly that.
Small spaces in everyday life where we are allowed to simply be, without performing.
Between the Lines – My Voice
This post is not really about peppers, chili plants, or watercolor paints.
It is about finding your way home to yourself.
About discovering that joy sometimes hides in the simplest things. In a weed pulled from the ground. In a flower placed in a vase. In paint flowing across a piece of paper without becoming perfect.
Between the lines, I read about a person who has become kinder to herself.
Someone who no longer demands perfection from every moment but can enjoy the process. Someone who is beginning to understand that value is not always found in the result but in the presence.
AHA – Between the Lines
Perhaps that is why the garden feels so good.
There is no requirement to succeed.
The tomato grows at its own pace.
The flower blooms when it is ready.
The rain comes when it wants to.
And in the middle of it all is a reminder that we, too, are allowed to be exactly where we are, without rushing.
A Question for You
Do you have a place or an activity where time disappears for a while?
Is it in the garden, by the sea, with a book, a craft project, or perhaps with a cup of coffee in your hand?
Feel free to tell me in the comments. I enjoy hearing what helps other people settle into the present moment.
You Might Also Like
🌱 WordPress 7.0 blog statistics – and suddenly the block editor works again
🌱 Everyday Life, ADHD and Presence
🌱 What the Lake Taught Me About Life
🌱 One Meter of Life
Subscribe to the Blog
Do you enjoy my writing?
Please subscribe so you do not miss future posts.
Support My Writing
If you appreciate what I write and would like to help me continue creating content on Malix.se, you are welcome to make a voluntary contribution through PayPal.
”Yesterday has already come to rest in history, and tomorrow is waiting further ahead. But right now – this is where life happens.” 🌿
Lämna ett svar