Self-Care In The Garden
Self-care is a trendy topic right now, and while I am horrible about giving myself the gift, I completely believe it’s important. I’ve always been a busy person. One of my son-in-laws looked at our daughter years ago (in my presence) and said, ‘She never sits down; she doesn’t stop!” I laughed at the comment, and while a disagreed adamantly, I confess, it’s really hard for me to do.
Working on my computer does require time in a chair; so in a way I have stopped—-physically. But that said, I am ‘working’ and in that sense, it’s not necessarily self-care. Over the years I’ve inadvertently adopted some activities which demands sitting and while I’m not totally still, but I am off my feet while I quilt! This is probably my favorite way to unwind. It doesn’t require me to ‘think’ and I can just ‘be’.
One surprising way experts tell us to enjoy self-care is to garden! It gets us outside in the sunshine, enabling us to smell the scents floating past our nose, absorb the view around us, breathe in fresh air, tend and nurture plants—(nurturing is an innate characteristic of humans), harvest bounty which has grown and offer an opportunity to get our hands dirty and commune with nature! It even has the potential to boost our immune system. Given all the chemicals and additives in the foods from the supermarket, that’s a huge plus!
Our bodies benefit from work in the garden as we gently use muscles we wouldn’t use in other activities. We can burn calories, work our leg and arm muscles, while we plant, water, pull weeds, harvest the bounty and more!
The garden is also good for us mentally, since it affects our mood as we care for the fragile plants who need us to water, feed, nurture, sometimes prune, and connect with the beauty before us. Additionally gardening lifts our spirits when we realize our accomplishments, and even affects how we think while allowing time for the stress we are carrying to ooze away!
Gardening can also be good for our minds in another way as we plan and document the way we want to create our ‘special’ garden, decide on the vegetables, herbs and flowers of our choice. Over the months we can keep records of what grew on what date, record our harvest dates, how we used or processed our bounty and more!
All these activities are amazing therapy even for those who are disabled. When a garden is planned correctly, wheelchairs can be in wider spaces effectively, boxes can be built so weeding and ‘nurturing’ can be done, or harvest collected at the right height; and proper tools can be used to accommodate abilities. But it can also be a place to just relax and rest. Include a bench or sitting area in your garden so you can sit and read, watch the birds, or just spend quiet time.
If gardening alone is a bit intimidating, group gardening might be an alternative. When several people work together on the project, it enables mingling, and relationships to grow, which otherwise might not have happened. We all need people to encourage, help, advise, comfort, and even teach us if we are willing to listen.
We all have something to offer with unique gifts and ideas. It matters not what our abilities are. We want to be part of something bigger than ourselves, that offers joy, pleasure, enthusiasm, a measure of productivity for our lives and even an avenue to begin healing, as we care for all that we are growing. This can be accomplished through interaction with other people. But it also provides the opportunity for purposeful, private, mindfulness when we make this an important daily activity, even if only for a short period.
Photo Credit: Self-Care is Necessary
Photo Credit: Self-Care and Gardening