1. The ten dollar bill I found in the dryer this morning. It's nice to get "paid" for the work I do around the house. :)
2. Lillian's prayer when she said she's grateful for the rain because it helps all the flowers and trees grow.
3. The way Liam holds onto the corner of his pillow as he's falling asleep.
4. Sydney's big, blue eyes with long eyelashes and the freckles on her nose.
5. Flower seeds and gardening. It's amazing how many parallels and metaphors can be made between planting/growing seeds and life. Four young women from church came to my house tonight and we planted flower seeds in little clay pots together. We talked about how growing flowers is like growing faith- they both need specific things in order to grow (flowers need soil, sun and water; faith needs desire, prayer and opportunities to be taught by the Holy Spirit)- they also both need to be nurtured and cared for on a consistent basis. It's amazing how a seed the size of a pin head can grow into a tall, beautiful, blooming flower- and then that flower can produce lots more teeny tiny seeds that will grow into even more flowers and more seeds....and the cycle goes on forever. This process of creation reminds me of a quote I heard from a talk a few years ago:
"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before.
Everyone can create. You don’t need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty.
Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty..." -President Uchtdorf; "Happiness, Your Heritage"
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2 comments:
Thanks for sharing this, Amanda.
I think the deepest creative activity may be when there is no intention to develop ourselves or others. Just create, interacting with the world we touch at the moment.
I used to garden "with purpose" - to save money and feed my family. Both purposes were pure illusion, in terms is economics and my family's lifestyle. Now I hope to garden just for the sake of gardening - for the garden's sake. Not sure I can! Our society's purpose-and-control habit which I inherited is so strong.
I've been thinking about your comment since you posted it and I've been asking myself, "why do I plant things?" (I don't think I can call it fully gardening). I think the biggest reason I do it is because I get satisfaction out of watching something grow under my care and because it makes my immediate surroundings beautiful. It's also way more convenient to go to the garden to grab some tomatoes for dinner instead of hauling myself and all the kids to the store. :) But there is also the reason you are hoping for- simply for the garden's sake; to allow it to be. I realized this today when I was watering my little plants. I have two different varieties of mint in two different pots. One is growing much better than the other and it's also the variety I prefer. I'm not quite sure what to do with the other kind, even if it were to flourish. I thought about just dumping it out and planting something else in its place. But the idea of putting an end to the mint plant's opportunity to grow and to BE a mint plant made me stop. I want the plant to keep on being a plant, simply for the sake of it. Thank you for teaching me that lesson. :)
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