Monday, January 30, 2012
being earthed, as a spiritual practice of being permanent
Today I planted a chilli plant at our new house/project. It suddenly felt quite profound and I realised, as I pushed the soil down deep, that it was the first time I’ve handled Adelaide dirt in a gardening sort of way.
From the first week that team Taylor, arrived in Adelaide, I’ve been gardening. It began with finding some plastic pots on the side of road. We then brought soil and started growing lettuces.
Since then, the plastic pot garden has grown. I’ve now got around a metre square of large pots, and have enjoyed lettuce, tomato, silver beet, onion, pepper, carrot, peas plus a range of herbs like parsley, basil, chives, oregano, sage.
But a plastic pot has, well, plastic, between it and earth. More, you can move a plastic pot. Somehow, it feels less permanent, less earthed.
Today, as I worked the soil, I realised that I won’t be taking this chilli with me. It’s here to stay. It’s part of a spirituality of being permanent. I’m not sure what this means, but it was interesting, and deeply spiritual, to work the Adelaide soil today.
)
I really know that feeling! I reckon the South Australian earth welcomes your hands.
Comment by Andrew — January 30, 2012 @ 9:22 pm
Have been handling Aussie soil since I came here in 1965 but had never thought of the whole gardening in the ground thing that way, but it does make you think about what you are doing and the relationship between you and the earth. Perhaps that is why I really don’t want to have to shift house, there is that connection of growth of roots and the spiritual side of our growing in God. The deeper our roots are grounded in Him, the stronger we grow as Christians.
Comment by Sandra Alderman — January 30, 2012 @ 11:01 pm