As it’s been over a year since my last post, which was about an esteemed onion, and a number of the labels or skins I wore then have since dried and fallen away, I thought the title metaphor appropriate.
Back when I pouted that onion away from its previous owner, I had a morale-crushing cubical job where every surface seemed two-dimensional and approximately the same sterile color as every other, and no one around me seemed satisfied or fulfilled. The onion plant stood out in that environment as it confidently refused to sustain any of those characteristics. The way I’d lived before I got that job. So it was an inspiring onion that gave me hope for a vibrant, more nutrient-rich future. How I would get there from the ocean of powdered milk hued cubes, I couldn’t see. Then in December, the peeling began.
First layer to go of course was the cubed (more like square) job. The office environment had become inhospitable and I really missed getting dirty by actively supporting life. The onion moved to North Carolina to retire in the south. 🙂
The second layer rolled back much more unexpectedly: I left Shambhala, the semi-Buddhist community I’d been actively committed to for four years. The one that trained me in organic gardening & Dharma to begin with! I know–I was as shocked as you are, but to put it lightly in metaphor, I simply couldn’t transplant a sickly seedling into a fresh herb bed and pretend it would produce a healthy crop, then ignore it and praise its stronger growing neighbors. Ok, maybe that wasn’t so light. 😉 I’m a bit of a soggy soil about it, because I was in love. Even so, equanimity is never far away.
some can even find equanimity staring at a pole 😉 I’m not that enlightened yet
The third and most personal peeling away was of my partner. Some band-aids just rip themselves off and you gotta grow your own scab to finish healing. 😐
the applebaby we were raising together
a haunting carving of our love; those seeds were so delicious!
And the fourth and most drawn out peeling has been the closing of my coaching business. All the websites, business cards, clients and above all my passion have dried up, especially since organic gardening took root in my heart.
So, in all the space left by the peels, I’ve been studying all the Buddhist texts I can get my hands on and volunteering to help build community gardens with the 11th Street Bridge Park and urban agriculture professionals from CAUSES out of UDC. The three community gardens I’ve worked on so far have been the highlights of my summer and I’m excited to help with more! 🙂
remains of another joyfully earned blister
a local school board candidate (L) & the ED of 11th St Bridge Park review the afternoon’s accomplishments
a fellow volunteer helping fill a vertical garden; I’m learning new things 🙂
Victor the gardens architect & his assistant Laura. Shoutout to Dr. Koquinda ND & Ms. Wanda in the background! :p
One of the smaller church gardens (11 beds), with herbs waiting to be planted
A larger church garden (76 beds!) with zucchini growing big & mulch waiting to be spread
In the meantime I have been blessed to have a friend with a small herb garden for me to tend while she’s away,
and the space, encouragement and organic ingredients to make pesto,
Pickles
and pumpkin curry! 😀
minus the curry–the only ingredient I didn’t have! So…pumpkin stew?? chard, squash and rice make it a meal
Well, whatever it is, it’s tasty. 🙂 It’s been so much fun getting to make organic and balcony-garden fresh dishes by myself! You should try it!
Have you found facets of your life peeling away over the last year? Things changing in big ways you never thought they would? But turning out much better for you after all? Tell me about it in the comments below! If you want your comment kept private just let me know. 🙂
Now that I’m getting back into the dirt and not just the Dharma, I’ll probably be posting here more often. Stay peeled for more as I apply what I learned in the green mountain country to the green capital city. 😉
Cultivating Mindfulness with Gardens 