Life in the Garden

I read this blog today and something about it resonated with me.
It was the last sentence about new life being breathed into her spirit thru her garden.
I marveled at her ability to see the yellow abdomen on that spider
and call it gorgeous, and then to say thanks to it for helping keep her garden safe.
I also don't kill bugs and spiders that live outside of my home.
After all, they need to live somewhere. And they are good for the garden.
But I've never ever had the thought to say thanks to any of them for what they do
or taken the time to see anything beautiful or gorgeous about their colors.
Bugs creep me out. They just do. There's usually an EEK coming outta my mouth when one of them makes their presence known to me.
What I liked was that her garden was breathing new life into her spirit.

As I watch my gardens come back to life, especially after the winter we had,
I can feel something coming back to life in me too.
There is a happiness that pervades me all day long. A lift to my spirit.
I can feel it deep in my bones.
I can feel it deep in my bones because I knew it was missing.
Only I didn't know it was missing until it came back.
That's when I realized that a part of me had gone missing for quite a while.
That's when I realized that perhaps Birdie's black dog had been wintering in my back yard.
It's strange though.....I only realized he had been there after he had gone.

Was it S.A.D.? I've never had it before.
Was it true depression? I don't know cuz I've never had that before either.
Once it had lifted, I realized how heavy it had been to carry.
Does that make sense?
Whatever...it's how it felt to me.

I feel lighter, happier, more content.
I like the feeling of something coming back to life inside of me.
Kinda like my gardens coming back to life.
I like the smell of the earth, the dirt, the soil and mud.
I like putting a plant in the ground and watching it blossom into something beautiful.
I like pulling weeds. I like putting together my container gardens for my porch.
I like buying flats of flowers and placing each flower in what ends up being the perfect spot.

And while I am aware that I am not doing a blessed thing towards alleviating
World hunger or child trafficking or guns and violence or war...
I am doing what I know I need to do to in order to bring a little happy into my world.
By beautifying my little corner of it.

I don't mean to be flip. I'm not out to try and save this world. Only God can do that.
And Birdie, I mean no disrespect by assuming that it was your black dog in my yard.
But something was keeping me from feeling the joy in life.
And something about being in my garden has brought it back.

Maybe it's the new life I see growing around me.
Maybe it's the feeling of the Sun on my face and back and arms.
Maybe it's my hands in the dirt, knees to the ground.
Maybe it's the birds that I hear singing.
Maybe it's the Vitamin D pills working their way into my system.

Whatever it is, I'm soaking it up, absorbing what I can thru sound, sight, touch and smell.
Life in my garden is bringing me back to life.

Sorry, but no black dogs allowed.