Dirt: an easy way to recharge your batteries.

I know you probably read that title and are thinking "Whaaaaat?"
Bear with me, it will all make sense in a second. There was a song by Arrested Development back in the mid 90's (its name currently escapes me) but part of the chorus was "Dig your hands in the dirt. Children play with earth."

It popped up on my ipod the other day and got me to thinking. Yes, the point of the song was how disjointed we are from nature and are engulfed by the mass amount of technology in our lives. this is true. The song actually reminded me of something else though, how powerful and restorative finding a simple way to reconnect can be.

I spent Saturday morning at the Women's Weekend Away, a health & services fair for women in the Harrisburg area. I had volunteered my Reiki services for the morning. When I came home I was so exhausted. I felt rewarded for the people I introduced to Reiki & having helped a dozen or so relax, but I was very drained.

I thought about what would help me relax and was grateful to realize that spring had finally come and I could start working on my garden. This year its a container garden (a very large one) instead of a yard, but the benefits are the same. There is something very rewarding about putting your hands in a pile of earth. There is a reminder that you are connecting to this life force that binds us all and you are helping something else to connect & grow. I tend to take it a step farther and do reiki on my plants and seeds as I am sowing them. Then, come harvest time, I am nourishing myself with that same energy.

You don't have to have a green thumb to try this. Container gardening can be very easy, aloe is very forgiving (and pretty hard to kill) if you're just getting started. I usually find joy in growing culinary herbs, a few medicinal ones and I plant flowers as well. Getting to look out the porch or window and see bright flowers in pots is also away to cheer me up on those gloomy gray days.

So treat yourself and take a few minutes to escape the chaos of technology by planting something. Fun with dirt doesn't mean you have to be four years old, covered in it or make a mud pie. It can be as simple as finding some peace in your life by growing a small plant.