… with the experience of Monkey Mind. There it was… my mind… with four limbs and a tail,
jumping from one set of cage bars to another, all the while vocalizing the most
unpleasant and silently shrill shrieks. “Let
me out… get me outa here… no, no, no… give me control and give it to me right
now…”
What good can come of a day that starts with getting up,
eh? How can I make it worse? Let me count the ways… Let me play the movies in my mind that
confirm my wild perceptions. Let me
replay in my thoughts the words my mouth wants to spew forth.
And then, in the afternoon, the letter carrier brought a
package of daylilies and peonies I ordered last month. And then… UPS left a big package filled with
four old-fashioned rose bushes I ordered last week. And then… I set out to move from the driveway some more of my big black gold compost pile from Springfield’s yardwaste recycling center
to the back
yard and spread it over the garden. Next
came the hoe, and I chopped away my monkey mind while pulverizing the hard clay
dirt clods into finer soil and mixing it with the magic black concoction of
rotted leaves and treated sewage waste.
Tossing shit on the garden… getting rid of the shit in my mind... chopping the rough ground with the hoe… feeling the body getting tired
after just a few minutes… all is A-OK and the mind is coming back to
freshness. And then, planning where the
three climber roses (two of them still on their way from another supplier) will
go in the back yard. Let’s follow good
directions, which say to dig a hole two feet in diameter by two feet in
depth. I’ve known for decades that it’s
far better to put a $5 plant in a $20 hole than the opposite. So, three spots chosen along the fence, and
swing that pick. Amazement—ground is
soft enough no pick is necessary. Just
dig. And dig. Digging a hole—who could have thought such
magical restoration could come from this holey work?
I ENDED THE DAY… at ease in mind, with sweet aching in
body. A good day with the sun, the wind,
and the soil.
 |
| ...and the rhubarb is emerging... |
 |
| ...and the little baby Tulip Magnolia is magnificent... |
