Birth/Death

In April, May and June there were three beautiful new babies born in our family. July 8th there was memorial service for an aunt who had died earlier in the year; July 9th was the 60th wedding anniversary of an aunt and uncle; July 10th was the wedding celebration for a cousin; and July 11th my sister's sister-in-law died; July 14th was my parent's 64th wedding anniversary and July 15th was my Mom's 84th birthday.

Whew! Birth, death, wedding, birthday, anniversary - that just about covers all the important events in life. How do I feel? Grateful. Life is delicate and such an honour to experience. I am so happy that I have yoga and meditation to keep me together during the difficult times. One takes on a more objective and philosophical look at everything happening, so that it does not get too overwhelming.

It is important when a person that you know dies to contact their family. They will appreciate a phone call. It is nice to share a special story and it will make the family feel better. Some people don't make an effort to make contact and miss an opportunity to really help those left behind. All special events need to be acknowledged. It makes people feel special - and they are special!

Dead Heading

Most of us are in our heads all the time, thinking and re-thinking about what to do, what we should have done, where to go, worrying about things we can do nothing about - blah, blah, blah. Gardening gets us back into our body, connecting with the earth. It feels so good digging in the dirt, planting a seed or a bedding plant. Watering makes all the difference. Over water and the plant will get sick and die; under water and the same fate awaits the poor plant. Watering just right perks up plants and people. Gardening is calming and creates patience, as well as an appreciation for the beauty and abundance of life. Once we have planted, our gardening karma is to water and weed.

Last week I went to visit my brother and sister-in-law who live on an acreage. They were transplanting bedding plants and I taught them how to dead head! Dead heading makes all the difference in the world to a flowering plant.  If we don't do it the plant gets spindly and won't give many flowers, because all the power goes into making the seed pods. I especially like petunias and really notice how they perk up after I dead head them. 

What is dead heading? Dead heading is a type of pruning. When a flower is wilting and looks like it is tired, follow the stem down to the origin and snip it off with your finger nail or with scissors. It is a good idea to learn how to dead head our over abundant and totally insignificant thoughts that are draining our life force, causing us to lose sleep and energy. How do we dead head our thoughts? We create calm in our minds by meditating or contemplating.  There are many different meditation techniques. Just find one that suits you and do it when you feel like it. You will perk up just like a beautiful plant!