I wish I could say that I go out into my garden and just marvel at the space I’ve created. Sometimes I do and I try to remind myself to stay present and just enjoy it. But if I’m being honest, in reality, I often go into my garden and make maps in my head of where I’d like to move things for next season.
When the day ends, and there is no more work to be done in my garden (and as I procrastinate all the work to be done in my house!) I spend some time making a garden map of goals for next season. This is what it looks like in my brain in real time: “I want to add some color to my red roses in the front, so I should move some to the back, and then I’ll move the farm up a few feet to fit them, and then move the elephant ears out of the pot so they thrive…” You get the idea.
As the season progressed and I really got to see how my plants looked throughout their bloom cycle, I felt like I had a solid plan for the fall. We are hopefully getting a new fence and that makes it the perfect time to move my plants around when I’ll already be moving them.
At the start of Elul, I got invited to a night of music, meditation and learning that my incredible friend Ilana was facilitating. It’s no secret that I don’t love going out at night – I’m exhausted and it’s just really hard to motivate myself to get out even though I’d like to. This particular night, something told me that I should really make an effort to go.
It was Rosh Chodesh Elul when such a special group of women got together to sing and reflect on what Elul means and what goals we have. Immediately what popped into my head was the notion that I had spent so much time mapping out my garden, but now is the time I should refocus to mapping out my year!
So, in the same format that I had been (almost obsessively) mapping out my garden, I made a guide for my hopes and dreams this year.
One of my goals for the year is to write more. I have so many thoughts and even drafts about the healing I’ve experienced after having my second child. About how cathartic it’s been to be a resource for people currently struggling. About my journey through energy healing and all the new tools and self-discoveries. About how my beloved nature betrayed me and I got Lyme disease this summer. There’s so many ideas swirling around in my brain and I hope this year I’ll commit to reflecting and sharing more.
One lesson I’ve taken from this night out turned revelation is that often I need a push to set myself in the right direction. I’m so grateful I went to Ilana’s soul-filled evening and that it gave me the jump start to map out my year.
Sometimes I have the tendency to get a bit obsessive about the things that bring me joy. A prime example is anyone who has seen me in the last two months glued to my garden watching hummingbirds. Once I connected the idea of using my garden map to map out my year, it gave me a deeper sense of purpose. Because it was connected to my garden, it felt like a gentle way of reflecting and setting the course for this year so that I can hopefully stay motivated to accomplish at least some of my hopes and dreams.
May you all have the sweetest year yet!
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