Mary Oliver goes to the woods

And I go to my garden

Epiphanies bloom like flowers

I inhale aromatics

Taste parsley and mint

Coriander and sage

Make herbal teas from the Rosella

Lemon balm

And thyme

Bundles of chives, Kale

Bok choy

Choy sum

And the common lettuce

Are added to my breakfast

I pluck the weeds

that have had the audacity to bloom in my absence saying

“I get it, you have to live, but not here”

And there is an abundance of them

And they will grow back

A thousand thoughts a minute

The trick is to be consistent

Life is always presenting problematics to solve

No need to despair

The ups

The downs

They remind us

We are here

Star grass clusters against the fence

I bundle the wind blown debris

Taking great satisfaction

From this simple thing

Control over circumstance

Even if just for a minute

As I untangle it from the bases of flourishing newly planted trees

I notice my worries dissolve

There was a craving for this

But despite being metres from my front door

And just one choice away

A split second

I was too busy to see that far

Look up

restore

So if that is you today

Learn from my mistake

Step out of your head

And go outside

Whatever is waiting

And wherever it resides

Simply requires

A turn of the eyes

And if you lack a garden

Always and readily available

Is the ever lasting sky

Ola pots – clay water pots that continually water my garden gently when I become too busy or the weather too dry and hot. These have been a game changer for my gardening and the plants thrive without me having to micro manage every drop of water

This rose only releases her aroma when she is in full, almost over full bloom – a lesson there