'That first snowdrop, the flowering of the rose you pruned, a lettuce you grew from seed, the robin singing just for you. These are small things but all positive, all healing in a way that medicine tries to mimic.'
- Monty Don
I find myself away from my adopted home town, and back in the city of my youth this week. Things aren't going well in my family and we are waiting with heavy hearts for the inevitable news to come through. It is hard to keep our eyes on the small, healing moments when death is just a phone call away.
Yet, there is something about harbours that I find calming. Perhaps it's the little boats bobbing serenely, unaffected by the workings of the world. Sometimes I wonder about their owners, but most of the time I don't like to disturb this serenity with humans. The boats are peaceful, they are patient and they are forgiving. They hold no grudges at being abandoned and they welcome all who happen to pass by with a gently bobbing and swaying, almost as if they are saying hello.
The wide horizon continues to remind me of our smallness in this world. How big and grand we think we are; how wrong we are. I see this also in the garden, when after a few months of neglect, new plants (mostly weeds) begin to take root, sending out new shoots of joyful freedom. We can't control the new shoots anymore that we can control the rhythm of life. These plants will come when we are gone and reclaim what is theirs. The shorelines will continue to rise once we are gone, taking back land that was taken for houses and footpaths, buildings and progress.
These are not grim thoughts; they are a medicine to our souls. A reminder that we are all just passing through and these 'small things' are what truly matters in our life. Taking time to prune that rose, to plant those seeds, to share those eggs with family and friends -- these are the things that matter to me. Making a small mark on an overburdened world and taking delight in the natural world. Receiving healing from the suffering that makes an indelible impression on our hearts, through the beauty of nature.
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