Unruliness and Diversity - Can we live without either?

Monocultures abound, whether it be in our food supplies or our social media accounts! We know that eating food supplied by big agribusiness is not good for our health, but have we learned that the same applies to our social media/tv/movie/shopping accounts? Algorithms are applied to all of our tastes, continually narrowing our focus and how we view life with our dreams and fears being targeted for the benefit of marketing and control.

A new monoculture is born and it is you. How does that feel? To know that by compiling all the data out there about you, you can be and are being manipulated to think, act, react, respond and live in a way that is easy peasy, nothing to worry about, nothing to see here, just listen to what you are told. And yes, I know the advantages – being spoon-fed ideas, told where to buy furniture/food/clothing and who to be friends with, based on what you have looked at, who you have interacted with, even just that one purchase/choice you made. It takes the guessing out of it; it is a very safe way of living. Whew! We don’t have to try anything new, stick to what we are told to do.

Alas, the adventure in life is then narrowed down to this recipe or that. We get so comfortable that we become complacent, letting others even pick

up the spoon that is being used to feed us, opening our mouths and receive, what a relief! Not having to think, only be relieved that we do not have to make all those pesky decisions, making it all so easy.

And how does this apply to my Unruly Gardens, you may ask?

Well, I tend to allow as much diversity as possible to have it flourish. And when I say I ‘allow’, actually I mean the garden tells me what it needs to flourish. And I watch, listen and learn from the individual plants and each little community and then see how the whole flows together, usually with as little disturbance as possible from my mind who really wants to control everything. I see what pops up, welcome newcomers, find out about them, allowing cross-pollination, moving night shades (and other plants) around so they don’t deplete the soil, even leave the weeds be in some cases. I love to encourage growth and the creation of life, not doing the same thing over and over in the same place. Letting them BE, growing the way they want to – cheering them along the way in their evolution into stronger, happier, healthier plants that will feed us endlessly, nurturing our bodies and tickling our souls into a fuller expression, if we let them.

This is why I have an Unruly Garden – because nature shows me, in her own unique expression the beauty and bounty that is available to us if we just let her show her stuff! By having a dynamic, loving relationship, I learn so much more than just throwing on the fertilizer and pesticides and herbicides (actually I would not even know how to do that!). I get to experience and witness how some plants nurture each other, how others need to be separated, how some so-called weeds can be left to grow in underneath – they don’t all take nutrients- some actually give nutrients and replenish the soil. Just like people - some are in our lives for the long haul, others must be rotated lol!

Now, I am not saying that all plants are saved – there are some very invasive plants that, without some action, can easily take over a garden and become the only thing surviving. It takes diligence to recognize and curtail these ones – if they have medicinal/food qualities, I will save a few and give them a home all to themselves as they seem happiest being the only bully on the block. Of course, this is true with humans too – give too many people an inflated sense of power and voila’ – you soon have a garden or community of weeds that choke each other out and all potentially beautiful life.

Stinging nettles shows up with toothache plant

I love celebrating the diversity of life, seeing and rejoicing when something new and unexpected shows up, flourishes, moves on, whatever! So much flow, so much change! And as oxy-moronic as it may sound, I love embracing that change, reveling in it, witnessing life as it is meant to be – free and continually evolving.

I expect you can see where I am going with this…

Gardens, just like humanity, need to BE with each other and share space –I don’t pull out a plant that bears medicine/food because it showed up somewhere I didn’t plan on having it.

Well, at least not at first - not until I have a look at it, let it grow, see what it is, talk to it, and usually I end up giving it a bit of space as I have a soft heart when it comes to life. And if it really cannot go there, then I scoop it up and find it a new home where it can flourish and allow the other plants to flourish.

It is the same with the people who unexpectedly show up in my life – I look them over, talk to them, welcome them, listen and give them some space to live and express. If we can help each other out along the way, so much the better, but at least give each other a chance to connect and see what potential there is to have a mutually beneficial experience.

October volunteers

And especially at this time of year, it behooves us to reach out and add some kindness to the world. This heart of mine has been turning towards kindness more this past few weeks, searching for occasions to reach out and offer it in whatever form that moves through me. Particularly this year it can feel more perplexing to discover new actions (and sometimes non-actions!) to offer kindness and love, but I do believe we are all up to the challenge!

And on that note, I have a small gift from my heart to yours. I gathered seeds from my garden this summer and fall and would love to share some of them with you! I will be picking 5 names on December 25, 2020 and will let you know if you are a winner! These will be mailed out in January and will be a surprise to both you and me!!

So, if you would like a chance at receiving an envelope of seeds you can enter one of these ways:

1) If you are already subscribed to my blog, your names are automatically entered, and if you are not subscribed, the easiest way to make sure you have a chance at receiving an envelope of seeds is, of course, to subscribe. (At this point, the only time you will hear from me is when I publish a new blog – you will not be inundated with any form of spam from me.)

2) And if you prefer not subscribing at this time, just send me a message here or on facebook/instagram and I will put your name in the hat with the rest.

It is in these times that we need to reach out, ask for and receive kindness, and offer kindness wherever and whenever we can.

Our Heart’s Light flickers ever so much brighter the more we shine it out.

May this year come to a close peacefully and with love in your Heart.

Love, Wynona