I’m not complaining the slightest, with the balmy short & t-shirt weather we’ve had recently here in Charleston, SC. Has given me the urge to get my hands dirty and start the re-designing of our backyard garden. 
I’m so grateful to have this little spot of land to refuge to. If you’re not as lucky as I, there are plenty of opportunity’s for green thumbs within your community I’m sure. Here are a few ideas & resources to help those in need:
As for my redesign this year, I’m bending it up. You’ll be able to see how literal that statement is, once I get a chance to post some pictures.
I’m a huge fan of Reuse (Reduce, Reuse & Recycle) as well and raised my beds with some old bed frames (no joke intended). I rescued these from a junk pile behind the local Thrift store. Not only am I getting a new life from these discarded bed parts & saving the energy used to create new ones, but being frugal & saving a chunk of money at the same time, is my kind of stuff.
Soon this little sanctuary will be blooming with life and I feel like a child waiting for Christmas presents. The help from my sons and their inquisitive look at it all. The Zen-like act of pulling bastard weeds. The morning checks for slugs & bugs. the smell of rotting compost.. aah.. all excites me. These damn winter blues sure do make the little things add up nicely.
Two hand-fulls of years before my current position, of sitting in a chair behind a screen,I worked the sea. I learned a lot out there and will forever have remnant’s of salt lingering through my veins. The stories… aah…I could talk for hours about. Reminiscing vividly, with colors, sights and smells. Where the captain was God, and the endless horizon evoked more thoughts and ideas than ever sensed before.
In this type of atmosphere, it’s hard not to be aware of your surroundings. At least for the most part that is. If you don’t check the float switches in the bilge, you may sink & die. If you don’t pay attention to the radar, you’ll probably run into something or aground and sink & die.
If you don’t check the engine room, at least fairly frequently, something could catch on fire, resulting in a big disaster then you sink & die.
All of these scenarios played through my head and gave me the inspiration to address the needed precautions. I sure didn’t want to sink & die. Worst than that, I didn’t want to be the responsible party that caused a hundred others to die. Which leads a little perspective into my account of
The Captains Cup
His salty, gold-toothed smile was enough to let you know he was well seasoned. Full of quirks. It’s funny how, living a life at sea can make the mind a bit…. like duct tape. Works in a pinch and can fix just about anything, but it’s really never the right thing for the job. Anywho, Ole’ Capt. sat in the same place every morning in the dining area, right beside a window and its’ sill. The 1st or 2nd mate was steering, so this left him to enjoy a stiff cup of black caffeine and get a good look over his crew. One morning, he decided to give an experiment he had in mind a try.
All it was, was an empty plastic soda cup, placed on the window sill behind his head. No one saw him do this, and continued on their self-absorbed ways. The lone cup sat, as the deckhands and stewardesses and passengers, all went along their merry old ways. Now it may seem a bit insignificant to have a plastic soda cup hanging around, but we’re supposed to be “ship shape” and in the service industry as well, added to the meaningfulness of its purpose. It was what it was.
Almost a good week went by, and the cup displayed it’s neglect by showcasing the thickened, gooey syrup left behind, from a few drops of soda. “Why the hell hasn’t anybody thrown away this damn cup?!! I put it here to prove a point, and that is…” and Capt. steamed out the details of his experiment and the laziness of his crew and the lack of focus to detail. “Everyone’s too busy playing “grab ass”, that they forget what they’re here to do” he affirmed his peons. “Pay Attention!! Now get out of my face.” We scooped up our ego’s and went about with our duties, all a bit wiser. And you could feel the gigglish grin of good ole’ Capt. as he walked down the hall to claim his spot at the ships wheel.
How many cups are sitting on your window sills? I try to review my surroundings and attempt to make sure i’m consciously aware of everything that’s directly and indirectly involved in my life. Naturally we block out things that are repetitive and become human computer processors, automatically functioning when needed. How many times has this caused us to overlook what is right in front of our eyes though? When you find that happy-healthy balance of what your life actually consists of and not just what you currently think it consists of, the depth of meaning and fulfillment of life will intensify for the good. This of course, can and will only happen with an open mind, that understands the situation from every angle, regardless of whether it’s thought to be right or wrong.
a few ideas off my head
- You don’t have to be in a rut to make a self-assessment. Add a reoccurring mark to your calendar.
- Meditation (Although I have no problems with structured forms, I prefer a self-guided version), to help start with a clean slate and focus can be primed.
- Make a list. I always seem to come back to the lists, but if you have troubles remembering what you lay out on the table, in its entirety, it’s indispensable.
- Give. The outward force of giving, without looking to receive, gives back ten fold. Adding to your inner self, oodles of warmth.
- Always remember that life is a work in progress, that can’t ever be completed.
- Don’t sink & die.
as I was writing this post, I came across these interesting links…
Photo courtesy of The Library of Congress on Flickr
