My Dirt Garden - Happy to Be Alive
Sand Between Your Toes
I May Be Lazy, I Sit
There is a space that I do not own. Oh sure it is the land that we have been given to use. We pay for it and have a title to the land. I kind of go that American Indian way of non-ownership of land. It is really not ours. Please do not tell my wife that. But my boy says “Our home is great to borrow”. But anyhow I hear of men having “man caves”. I have a stool outside of my gardening space. Well that space is my man cave I reckon. It is what I call my dirt meditation garden. I do not plant there. I do not grow things there. Oh for sure I have tossed stones and shells there. Like as though they have fallen from the sky. Not of my design. There are American Indians and Asians that make like stone gardens that are designed. They are really cool like Totem Poles horizontal.
The order kind of makes me uneasy. In my mind space I do not really care for being orderly. Right now I am joined by some really cool “weeds”, they call them Mallow. They go about four months and can get a full five feet high. They grow so fast it is amazing. They are covering up my dirt. I cut them down and dig them up in most of our land. But that is “illegal” inside my 8 X 8 meditation garden. It just cannot happen in nature’s playground. Man’s order is not allowed in that space.
This morning was one hundred percent without even a slight breeze. So you sit very still and contemplate. And a plant will move. Really without any air motion. So you clear your mind and absorb and observe. The plants move as they grow. Now that is what I call a garden. So inspiring. Think thusly. The plant grows so fast, so how fast can I grow? How much love can I exude in a single moment? Maybe not of man’s making but maybe of God of love. Don’t look at me. I have interpretation of what I see. Those are not answers those are notations in my book of life. Not of me.
I don’t take tests though I am tested. But no teacher looks at me for answers. So no way us living students do, it would be crazy. “Grade someone”? So maybe we can look at disorder. Maybe chaos is appropriate. Not for the world of man but for the world of us.
Look Down and Not Back
Who Owns What Dirt?
A Nature of Love?
We are “tribal” or “clan” by nature. The romance of a “lone” wolf is basically fiction. Wolves hunt in packs. Can you imagine one cave man bringing down an Elk? Not likely guys and dolls. So our primal notions have us group together and not until the Golden Age of Greece did we even ponder individuality. In this day and age I like to shun commonality and revel in community. My writing of faith is not Marlene’s. My thoughts are influenced by the group mentality. But I do not live stream or have live TV. It interferes with my me.
About a decade ago my elder son was studying Philosophy at UC Santa Cruz. I have such a worthless, from the group, degree also. When we speak in theological and philosophical ways we do not take from the group we give to it. I use the word “me” instead of I. To me, “I” is the ego outward and “me” is lack thereof inward.
Back to my dirt garden. Oh my, what a day in the place of worship of those things not of man.
There is nothing better than hanging out quietly by your “self”. Ok that is not accurate. Getting hugs and spreading and sharing the love is better but besides that. It is easy to marvel at a rose bud. It is easy to grin at a newborn child. Good on us for doing so. But you have to for just three minutes of your life stroke a weed’s leaf. I know that sounds crazy but it takes you into the realm of love and not man’s plans. I am a fruit freak and quite strangely for me a meat freak. I love ‘em. Now don’t get me wrong you may find me eating a fresh onion like an apple. A just pulled up carrot requires laying down in the land where it was pulled from and gazing at stars, of course the stars are not visible in the day. I wonder about that as I see them in my shut eyes. I used to do transcendental meditation and visualization meditation. I gave them up for the here and now concept. I have never been anywhere that was not where I was supposed to be. I no longer do candle flames or a special place. I do my space. I have learned to love where I am. Take my word for it in a Nogales jail that takes some effort.
So let us talk about Rob. Going backwards we jumped out of perfectly good plane and Rob sent us across the border to Mexico. Jackass! We illegally entered into not just Mexico but the “Military Air Space”. He screamed YES! As Federal’s focused on us. They did this with full automatic weapons of one hundred were pointed our way. If you do not have getting head butted with a rifle butt just go ahead leave it off your bucket list. What were we? An invasion force?
Lay in the dirt somewhere and just look up. It is kind of dirty, it is either cold or hot. I don’t know, it is just dirt and just sky. Being in dirt is kind of different. I like it. I have trouble sleeping on it as it kind of hurts old bones. But what genius said hurt is bad? Oh yes, no one. I wonder why no great philosopher ever said sleeping in the dirt is bad for you. Or even a doctor with sense. What is going on?
Sister And Brother Learning Nature
Living In The Dirt Ain't Half Bad
I Reckon I Missed My Share - Or Maybe Not!
Tonight I had to close one eye and squint the other to see the face of the man on the moon. What a great face. Not handsome and not pretty. Just what we imagine it to be.
Now here something to put on a bucket list guaranteed. Sit on a horse out there somewhere and gaze at the moon. Or probably just as good is doing it with your dog. Another story is Snowshoes, Dog sleds, Cross country skies and repelling. Moonlight is so cool.
So what is the meaning of having a dirt garden? I really do wonder. I was thinking in my garden about how many people stoop down into dirt scoop it up and luxuriate in the texture of it’s smell. I would give that as a gift but most would not appreciate it I think. Beach dirt on a river is different than beach dirt on an ocean beach. Belize dirt smells different than Cambodian. City dirt has an oily feel and smell. Dirt at 12 thousand feet has like an ozone electricity.
Religious folks tell me that from dirt we come and to the dirt we shall return. My boy was 5 when we first slept in the dirt. I think maybe dirt is earth. Maybe to be in touch with earth we need to try to love dirt. My boy gave me three more shells from his sister for my dirt garden.
So often we look up when just in thought we should look down.
I Have Never Found Trouble in Dirt
Comments
I just came back for another read. Have fun in that mud garden Eric and send some rain here we need it.
Well, I have been enjoying a good book. I wish I had a nice fireplace or woodstove. At this point, we are in a big thaw and the power is on so I'm comfy. God bless.
Sucking on a pebble for thirst, I'll have to remember that. With all the snow and power outages we've had a pebble would come in handy for those who are on a well and the pump goes dead. It may save some lives. lol
Dirt, soil, earth, loam, it's all the same and nothing is sweeter than smelling rich soil, running your fingers through the sand, and digging in the earth and loam to plant. But weeds, have at it, dude.
As an aside, when I was about four or five I went to the park and immediately saw a boy my age lying on his belly in the sand, and much to my amazement he put his face in it and took a big mouth full. I failed to pay much attention to the disappointment on his face, the way his nose turned up and his tongue thrusting out sand as fast as he could. All I could think of was how cool it was and I had to try it. How disappointed I was. I turned up my nose and thrust that sand out with my tongue then ran to the drinking fountain and swished a gazillion times until I finally got rid of it. I wasn't the sharpest spade in the shed that's for sure.
Eric, I'll try to keep that love train chugging along.
Eric sorry I'm late ro the party. Can't sleep on the train so opened my phone and there you were.
Thank you for sharing these thoughts, and so beautifully. I have some serious work to do here. I have a very bad habit of always planning/doing and never taking the time to stop and smell the roses (or the dirt).
Eric, questions of by what right are land, natural resources, waterways, and so on owned intrigue me. If might does not make right and if victorious invading armies and the settlers who follow have no right to the spoils, then any land ownership that traces back to violent conquest is baseless. That would include land ownership of which traces back to the Mexican-American War, or to the Louisiana Purchase, or to the American Indian wars, and so on. Most, maybe all, land was possessed by war or other violence. Any conqueror has the same right to it as the original conqueror and current ownership is not only rooted historically in violence; it is maintained by the use or threat of state violence. So who would own what in a nonviolent society based on the joy of giving and receiving to meet everyone's needs?
Eric, you did say that it as a dirt garden. Not a flower garden, not a vegetable garden, so you made me focus on dirt. "Maybe to be in touch with earth we need to try to love dirt." You take my mind where it does not voluntarily go, but needs to.
Hi, Eric,
I don't have a man-cave, but I have a metal building where I hide my tools until they are needed. Right beside of it is a giant oak tree. After reading this article, I went and sat under that tree, on the ground, surrounded by my three dogs. We were having a pack moment. Well, then the wife called. It's beautiful for even a few moments.
Thanks buddy.
Much respect and admiration,
Tim
Yes, to look down and not just look up. I feel the need to be more mindful now, just to sit and enjoy God's love in the things that we often ignore. Thanks for this article.
I get this entirely, Eric. It is my morale boost to just look around me when I walk, to just sit in the garden and listen, look, contemplate all that is there. The man in the moon is a magic I've always been in awe of. I am completely on your wave length here.
Brilliant!
Ann
I figure I'm just about the luckiest man alive, buddy, and many of the reasons for that are in this lovely reflection.
You made some good points about how simple it is to just enjoy the dirt and the sky. I can't get down in the dirt anymore because I can't get back up. So, I like to watch the birds. I have a bird feeder and I simply enjoy watching. Whether I look up or down has not always been done at the right time, but we all make mistakes. I like to keep life as smple as I can.
I like this article. The Soggy Bottom Boys were good also.
I loved this Eric. Yes, maybe we do need to look down more and appreciate the dirt, plants (even weeds). Oh, gotta love the Soggy Bottom Boys from "Oh Brother Where Art Thou."
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