July - is all about the growth

I am in awe of my gardening buddies.
The determination, knowledge, worry and backbreaking work
they put into these beautiful, productive spaces.
And who get’s to benefit?
Often me!
After all their toil, the harvest seasons come and I am the one gifted.
Here come the zucchinis, tomatoes, salad leaves and fresh cut flowers.
My friends don’t hide their gifts away; they share them over and over!
It never ceases to amaze and touch me when these gifts arrive at my door.
But what of us that aren’t gardening whizzes?
Where is it we are working the soil in our lives?

When we pursue any dream we too toil and sweat.
We learn, we care, we work, we wait and yet still we can’t see fruit.
Not yet, not yet!
Close your eyes, picture those roots taking hold.
Growth is happening, it’s just below the surface.
The seeds you planted are pushing through the soil
s-l-o-w-l-y.
You must keep on doing the work.
Focus on the doing, rather than the bounty.
Look closely, is that a shoot, a leaf, a flower?
There are signs, I promise, see if you can spot them.
They will come and they will grow.
Your job is to keep gardening right now.
And when the harvest does finally come?
Share those gifts at your friend’s doors!

Have a wonderful, grubby hands July!
CX

June - is all about the moments

We are a busy lot these days
and the onset of summer is no different.
The nice weather brings so many options of things to do.
The children are coming to the end of their schedules
(which for some reason means there is more to do not less).
And those days are getting longer you know,
look how much you can cram in now!
Arghhhhhh.
Not this year, my friend!
This year we are going to take regular breaks
from this early summer rush, rush
and remember those lazy, hazy days
of the summers we used to have.

Grab an apple and a bag of chips (crisps)
and head on outside if you get a lunch break,
a moment of happily entertained children
or any glorious space of time in your day really.
Actively watch for these tiny snippets of time.
They really do occur.
Grab them with a passion to do
…well to do absolutely nothing if you like.
Be beholden to no one, for just a few minutes.
Lie on a blanket and look at the blue of the sky.
Eat an easy picnic.
Open a few pages of that book you have been waiting to read,
but never got the chance.
Leave the washing up,
that e-mail,
ignore that quick call
to check on that something that can wait.
There is always going to be something to do
the something’s never end.
It is your job to find the moments.
To find them and enjoy them,
without hesitation
or guilt.
Monitor them,
PROTECT them,
savour them.
because...
They are yours and only yours
this month of June!

May - is all about the flying

Ahh…my flying lady.
She pops up quite often, my lady in the sky.
Flying can symbolize so much.
Escape, freedom, thrills and dreams.
We all need a place to fly in our minds.
Sometimes we need to get away from where we are.
Sometimes we need to go somewhere special.
New heights give new perspectives to our ground lives.
Look how small that issue is from way up here.
Soaring across the sky can loosen ties and worries.
It can help us find new growth, new ways of seeing, and new solutions.
Where is she going?
I don’t think she knows and that is ok with her!
This month let your mind fly.
What do you see?
What are you thinking?
What new perspectives come through?
Feel the wind blow around you.
Feel the sunbeams on your skin.
See your world a little smaller.
A little respite from your day-to-day.
A little more time to fly with your dreams.
Where does it take you?
Where is it you like to go?