By late November, I had not planted my front, winter flowers yet and wondered why without coming up with a reason. I planted every year–why not this year?  So one weekend I went to the nursery, picked out some flowers–bright red petunias, lobelia, two rose bushes, dahlias–and potted them all in one day. I felt instantly better. I really did. I repeated it the weekend after with the backyard. Planting and nurturing those plants drew me outside, away from the distractions that don’t really feed me, to a quiet place where I can think and plan. Even though I was busy with work, I put it all aside to have that meditative time. Those couple of weekends, with my hands in the soil (gloves are for suckers), really fed me.

     And now those plantings are still bringing me some joy. And when I sit outside and watch them grow, my mind clears and is open to new ideas. When I periodically get my hands busy with pruning the dead from the living, I prune the old from my mind to make room for some new thinking.