Gardening as an anchor

Even when writing about this, I asked myself if it is too early to write it down. I say this because transitioning from one hobby to other surprises me more than anyone else. I used to be an ardent traveler. I am over it. It isn't fascinating anymore, or it isn't meaningful to me. It feels quite loud and hectic.

Even though I felt this, I frequented one place near Coimbatore this year. It was to Satdarshan, a peaceful abode near Siruvani. It is a rejuvenating place to me. When I introspected on what brings in rejuvenation at Satdarshan. The answer is so simple. The prevailing silence and the natural world in that space. To hear the sounds of nature, gushing streams, crashing barks, and croaking frogs, and the absolute silence in me brought bliss. Whenever I visit Satdarshan. I take a stroll around the premises and stand in stillness to experience these moments in many points in the premises. It is a ritual to feel the oneness there. This oneness makes me feel that I am part of this universe like every living and nonliving thing. They are my co-lifers here on this planet.

When I introspected in and around my living space at home, it just came to the surface about the absence of life (other than human), green coverage, a ritualistic space to experience the stillness, and enjoying the beauty of nature without any noise.

I have had various false beliefs. One of those was I believed I could not attend, nurture, or care. I need not say where this came from.

This prompted me to set up a mini garden at home. I ordered a batch of sunflower seeds and cockscomb. I had to procure potting soil, planters, and everything. I had never planted a single seed in my life until that point. My niece and I prepared the pot and sowed those sunflower seeds. To my surprise, all of them germinated. Thanks to nature's grace. I nurtured and took care of those seedlings. I also sowed the cockscomb seeds; like, I got 50-plus saplings. I was quite overwhelmed. And I didn't know what to do and when to replant. Thanks to the millions of YouTube channels, I started replanting. I expanded the garden, got a few fruiting trees, and the process and tasks expanded as I got more plants. I loved my time procuring vermicompost, cocopeat, buying grow bags, and preparing a potting mix. This became a morning routine before commencing office work. Sowing seeds to replanting saplings became part of my daily tasks. I attended, cared for, nurtured, and nature started gracing my life with its bright colors. Sunflowers bloomed, cockscomb bloomed, Ixora bloomed, papaya, guava, sapota, and water apples started growing well. Eventually I tried growing vegetables as well in the garden: red amaranth, palak, tomatoes, chilies, lady's fingers, brinjal,broad beens, coriander, to name a few. I have harvested spinaches, and the lady's finger has grown well, and I will harvest a few in the coming days.

Watering plants, observing the garden and the mini living world in that space, and experiencing stillness has become part of my daily life. My garden is space to observe the thriving lives. The whole process of germination is astounding—how life thrives within that small seed. Seed becomes a seedling to a true leaf stage to a sapling and finally becomes a flowering plant. This process is grounding and brings out the childlike joy in life. Whenever visitors, I mean flies, insects like butterflies, bees visit my space, the joy doubles. This is the life I wished to replicate in and around my living space and it has turned out well. A space where many living beings thrive. Our vitality in life is directly connected with the oneness in nature and its world. Even a small mini garden space added more vitality to my life and act as an anchor.

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