Karen's Story:
I planted a garden this year and I feel like a "kindergardener" with a paper cup and a marigold seed. I have spent the whole summer just completely giddy about my vegetable plants growing in the corner of the yard.
When I turned 40, a decade ago, I was facing a life-threatening illness. I wasn't sure I would make it to 50. But, I'm here and so grateful to be in my garden.
Other than the sensual delight of going barefoot in the rich, black soil, the colors of all the blossoms, the amazing bumblebees and the smell of the basil, my garden has been a simple reminder of so much about what I hold as Truth about Life. Having a garden has been a beautiful metaphor for Life and, since I'm turning 50 this year, I'm feeling pretty sappy so I thought I'd share some of my insights with you.
We live in a rental house that is very quirky and strange. We don't really know the history of the dirt in our yard so we were a little nervous to plant a garden. My brilliant Husband had a great idea. Instead of tilling and conditioning the soil, he hauled in several large bags of organic soil, threw them in the corner flower bed, sliced them open and planted our garden directly in the open bags. I was skeptical but we've grown a pretty amazingly lush garden!
Being able to just put fresh dirt in bags on top of the old dirt reminded me that no matter what has come before in your life, you can always start fresh. And it doesn't have to be hard. It's truly just a matter of throwing a bag of fresh dirt on top, planting something new and reaping a new harvest.
I have zucchini and other summer squash coming out of my ears!!! Next week, we'll be swimming in tomatoes and a couple of mystery vines have crawled out of the garden, creeping in multiple directions and have taken a solid foothold into my neighbors yard, crossed the sidewalk and wound around the garden chairs.
Every day I stand next to my garden and my mind struggles to really integrate that all of this radical abundance started from tiny little seeds. I mean, I've harvested at least 25 zucchini from just one plant...and they're HUGE...and it all comes from a tiny seed that is smaller than my little toenail!
Amazing!
Personally, I'm in the middle of birthing a huge new project. In so many ways I'm waaaaaaaay out of my comfort zone. I am struggling with inadequacy, a deep fear that I'll let everyone down if I screw this up, and that horrible feeling that comes when you take a risk and face the unknown.
I've been beating myself up a lot lately about not staying consistent with my faith and letting fear win some solid territory in my brain. I forget sometimes to set clear intentions and to call on Divine Support. I forget that it's not about ME...it's about being aligned with something bigger than myself...
I forget a lot of the stuff I know sometimes.
But seeing these HUGE leaves and harvesting this amazing crops of vegetables that all come from these teeny tiny seeds helps me remember that sometimes all you need is a small seed of faith to make things grown. And that from those sometimes tiny moments when you are clear in your intention and you have that oh-so-elusive faith in the right place, amazingly abundant things happen!
In other words, it's okay if you're freaked out in between those moments of faith.
than me, helped me pick out the plants we put in the garden. In our enthusiasm, we misplaced some of the signs we made to help us know where and what we planted.
Consequently, we have several mystery vines with strange fruit growing on them. Recently, I figured out that one of them was a cucumber vine. Cont'd at Right...
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(I found this out by discovering about seven super fat, juicy cucumbers hiding out under some big leaves...)
Lastly, my six-year-old daughter, who loves the garden even more
Our other mystery vine has yet to bear recognizable fruit, but it does have fuzzy green striped things handing from the vine...watermelon?
The bottom line is that it doesn't matter what the vines are. It is guaranteed that they will be juicy and delicious and there is a curious joy with the unknown nature of the whole thing...
Sometimes, we plant seeds, tend to the garden and do everything we know to do to create what we want. And then the Universe "one-ups" us and gives us something unexpected and even more delightful than we ever could have imagined.
Ten years ago I was struggling mightily. I was broke, my heart was shattered in so many pieces I wasn't sure if I'd ever find them again, I was alone, fighting physical illness, fatigue, raising four children by myself... It was the hardest time of my life.
My grandmother died at that same time and she came to me in a dream and assured me that she was working on "fixing" my life.
Shortly after that, I met my husband-to-be on the weirdest blind date ever. We were as opposite as two people can be. If I'd made a list of features I wanted my Soul Mate to have, he would have none of them.
Four years after we met we had a daughter and two years ago we got married. Nothing about this relationship is what I imagined for myself. And everything...I mean EVERYTHING...about this relationship and my life right now is waaaaaay better than I could ever have dreamed up with my little human brain.
Sometimes the Universe sends us mysterious vines that bear fruit that aren't what we thought or expected. And, if we keep weeding the garden, watering the soil, noticing the growth with love and gratitude, the fruit ends up sweeter and juicier than we expect.
(Also, sometimes we get fruit that we think is sour, pungent and repulsive, but when the complete mystery unfolds, we realize that whatever fruit is growing in our garden is exactly what we need to eat...or not eat...in the moment....)
May your garden be full of perfect fruit. May you revel in the abundance of it all. May there be rich, dark, fertile dirt between your toes and may the bumble bees sing you a sweet song as you greet the sun and the flowers...
Find out more about Karen Curry by visiting her website
