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Building a Garden, and Building Myself
Like most people, I have been home most of the spring and summer, and have found loads of projects that need doing around my house. By far, the most satisfying has been reimagining my outdoor spaces and building a garden that I can enjoy every day. What I did not plan on, however, and have found to be the most gratifying aspect of this project, is how building the garden has become a metaphor for building myself. I am very fortunate to live in a small cottage-like home that I love. When I divorced nearly five years ago, I bought this house because it felt like home. Since then I…
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Five Ways to Release Anxiety and Imagine Better Outcomes
“The best use of imagination is creativity. The worst use of imagination is anxiety.” –Deepak Chopra It’s our third week of social distancing and shelter at home. On family group chats, we joke about changing from our day sweatpants to our night sweatpants and how many jigsaw puzzles we’ve done. Yet while we laugh at our imposed laziness, there is a sense of malaise that cannot be ignored. These are scary times. Anxiety and Imagination For better or worse, we humans are blessed with imagination. We can create elaborate realities that pass the time as pleasant daydreams, but just as easily we can imagine scenarios that leave us breathless with…
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Five Lessons Learned in the Garden
Last year I moved into a new home. As part of making it my own, I had several new flowerbeds dug, and this spring has been the time to fill them… a job I recently finished. While I spent a lot of time and money on my garden this spring, it has all been worth it. I love taking care of the plants, keeping the beds neat and weed-free, and trying to orchestrate the effects of which plants bloom when and where. In turn, I am rewarded with a beautiful palette of colorful blooms (I hope) from spring into fall, and with the numerous lessons gardening teaches each every day. …