This past week I found myself a bit unsettled. The frenzied pace of everything around me and the way it seems that we're pushed to do everything at once, but not really sit down and listen to anyone, has me feeling crummy.
While we all have deadlines to make and expectations to fulfill, I find it's hard to take a step back in a world where everyone is shouting above the other person and really listen.
In entering this autumn season, those of you with children are trying your best to figure out how to manage the challenges of a world where learning looks very different than before.
In living out in the country and growing our farming/garden space, our fall tasks begin to pile up until we can't ignore them. But at the moment the thought of ripping everything out and digging up all the dahlia bulbs for the year is making my eye twitch.
We're also still trying to finish fall canning and preserving before the season is over.
So we pushed off finishing the grape jam to spend the afternoon in the garden.
Cutting, deadheading, raking piles of flower debris and surveying this years success and failures.
Why do flowers bring us such joy?
Flowers seem to have a way of opening up people. They bring a smile to peoples faces. They remind us to see the light in a dreary day. And they are a breath of prettiness in a world sometimes covered in stress and somber feelings.
As I get older, new things are bringing me joy in ways that I could never have expected.
Growing up, I despised spending time in the garden. It was full of chores and tasks, and I was all too busy with my horses to give it any thought. Now I'm finding such pleasure in growing all of our produce, as it satisfies us all so much to eat from our own garden.
But these last few years, my mother's garden has become permeated with flowers. She's taken out all of her vegetables in place of more flowers. Starting many of them from seed in her greenhouse, she babies and coaxes them along until they are ready to brave the elements out in the bigger garden.
I've watched as she has shared her flowers with friends and neighbors, and even begun sharing them myself as I hone my own flower arranging skills.
I reminded myself the other day that we are allowed to change and grow, and in doing so, we can find new things that bring us great joy. Flowers are beginning to stir my soul with a quiet and wonderful joy.
So today I'm giving you a challenge and a thought..
What brings you joy at this moment?
Second...What could you open your mind and heart up to in the future that might bring you joy?
I have a few ideas swirling about dreams and goal setting. While I'll be honest, my constant struggle is to find balance between making a living and making a life.
But for now until further notice, I'll just share these snippets of joy in the fall garden. These part dried out/part dead fennel heads are even better than they look in the summer.
Discovering new flowers that perfectly blend into an arrangement, that I had previously overlooked (i.e. who knew cosmos were so elegant?).
And there's something magical when you watch someone walk out of the garden, bucket brimful of flowers, and a grateful smile. For some reason, flowers just have a way of capturing people's attention and hearts. Even in a world of stress and uncertainty, they bring joy.
So again, my challenge to you...
Find one thing currently that brings you joy.
Can you cultivate that or grow that thing? Could that change your life?
Then, could there be something that could feed your life and bring you satisfaction at some point in your future?
Could you make a living doing something that also feeds your life?
Late fall and winter are the perfect time for more contemplation. So after the garden is put to bed I'll join you in thinking on whether my dreamy ideas could be brought to life in some way and what that might look like.
And on a last note...
Go pick up a bouquet of flowers this week. It seems like the most fitting thing to do.