Gardening is a great way to not only get in touch with nature, but to practice one of the most soothing forms of self care. Plus, you can grow whatever you like – from flowers to fruits and vegetables.
When you’re digging around in the soil, it gives you an endorphin boosts and your mood lifts. You feel happier and more relaxed. Watching things grow that you planted and nurtured gives you a feeling of having nourished yourself and you’ll be able to see the fruits of your labor.
There’s something positive about sitting outside in the warm, gentle sunshine with the cool soil on your hands. It makes you more aware of yourself and your life. Plus, it helps with the mind, body, and spirit connection.
You’ll feel at peace and the stress just melts away. Digging in the dirt helps bring you back down to earth, to recognize and realize what’s important. It helps you understand that the 101 irritations and the busy life you lead don’t have to weigh you down.
As you’re preparing the soil to accept what you’re planting, you’re letting go of what’s not allowing you to grow freely. It’s a transformation of both plant and person. You gain clarity when you’re gardening.
Whatever it is that you’re trying to figure out is easier to do so when patting a seed down into the hole you’ve just created in the dirt while you listen to the wind dancing through the trees and the birds chirping as they watch you from above.
While your hands are busy, your mind is relaxed and open to ideas. The fretting, the wondering, the worrying that you might normally experience doesn’t stick around when you’re gardening.
The earth and connecting with it reminds you of your own roots – of the person that you are regardless of all the trappings in your life. Gardening allows you to strip away pretense and simply be you. It’s freedom and joy.
When your hands are in the dirt, you’re engaging in the act of creating and building something out of nothing or of stripping away what doesn’t belong. The weeds in the garden are symbolic of the weeds in your own life – those things that crowd around you and choke out the warmth and brightness that you need to flourish.
As you garden, you become more settled within your spirit and you feel a healing that can only come from the earth that you’re connected with. When you’re finished, and you look back over all that you’ve done, you get a sense of accomplishment and know that you’ve given beauty to the area and to yourself.
You’ve created an oasis where you can enjoy nature and you’ve practiced the kind of self care that’s long lasting. Seeing your garden will be a reminder every day to take time to look after yourself.
