On a regular work day my mind is often spinning. There are so many thoughts running around in circles. There are the thoughts about work – are the computers working, what kid has not complete the test, how are they doing, have we followed all the rules – on and on it go. There are the thoughts about what are we having for dinner, do I need to get food, what new recipe could I try. There are the thoughts about the garden what needs to be done, weeded, trimmed, planted, mulched it too can go on and on.
We let your minds race from thought to thought. We are easily distracted and pulled into new thinking very quickly. So I do yoga and I try to meditate. I work on quieting my mind. I try to just breath.
Breathing in and breathing out – a balance of air to keep the lungs moving and the body balanced. I bring my focus to the breath to calm and settle the race that goes on in my head each day.
It is work for me to get this to point of quiet. I tend to be a mover and a mental racer. So tonight as I reflect on the day I am a bit surprise at how my day went. I spent all day in the garden. All day weeding, planting, and trimming. I worked at a slow pace with focus and what I realized is that my busy mind stopped today.
There were no racing thoughts. In fact there was only the slow steady thought of each movement. The watching of how I was pulling each weed. The looking to be sure it was a weed and not a plant I was hoping to grow. I did not plan the next day, the next meal or the next event, or the next step. I simple was in the garden.
A day of meditation. A day of a quiet mind. A day of calm and stillness yet much was accomplished in the garden. Funny how we can work so hard to find quiet and then when I go off to work hard I find what I often seek – a quiet mind.
Now as dark of night slides in, a light rains fall, the green of the garden glows and the tulips close for the night. I am tired, my muscle ache a bit but I am settled and looking forward to another day of mediation in the garden. 
Words from JL 
Love this meditation on gardening! And since I’m not a gardener (except for potted flowers at the door and container tomatoes on the driveway), I’m in awe that you could spend the entire day gardening. So happy that it provided the quiet you were seeking. And your tulips are absolutely gorgeous!
When I lost my dad, gardening was the place I found solace and my grief quieted for a time. I appreciate your reminder that my garden still awaits – and there will be peace there.
A beautiful post. I often have mental racing and find it difficult to shut off my mind. Gardening has been a pasttime of mine, also, for a long time. It is rejuvenating to focus solely on the task at hand and not be distracted by the rest of our lives. I hope you enjoy more mindfulness in your garden soon.
thanks for that moment! My husband gave me an apple watch for my birthday. It has a breathe reminder. At first I thought it was silly and now I love it. We need time to stop and literally smell the flowers.