Quantum Thoughts for Gardeners: February 2011

When February arrives we feel the depth of winter in our soul.  There are many days of cold and snow.  New complications in our lives arrive in the guise of treacherous driving conditions and slippery sidewalks.  The days are getting lighter and we are antsy for spring.  Look at the popularity of Punxsutawney Phil over the last 121 years.  Will spring be coming soon?  Please? The Groundhog Day phenomenon arises from an ancient German superstition that if a hibernating animal casts its shadow on Imbolc (Feb. 2) there will be an early spring.  We have been “waiting for spring” for as long as there has been life on the earth. 

Well, spring is coming but now in February we should take time to really observe the life and beauty that surrounds us now.  Our families snuggled around the fire.  The comfort in making the same stew your mother did on cold winter nights, when you were a kid.  Look out your window into your garden and you will notice the holly, the evergreen, and the birds.  The holly adds color to the grey, white, and black of the February day.  The splash of red of the berries symbolizes good will and everlasting life.  The evergreen reminds us again that life is forever, on-going, never ending.  The birds are a reminder of the work that continually needs to be done in life.  During February, they are mainly busy in finding food and keeping the nest warm.  In our lives, we have laundry and dishes to be done.  These tasks are blessings!  Yes, they really are!  Laundry and dishes prove to us that we have clothes to keep us warm, and the food to feed us.  These sometimes tedious tasks are ongoing, never ending, and also welcome.  Each of these gifts (holly, evergreen and bird) is a reminder of the fact that we are all One.  The Holly, The Evergreen, The Bird and You are all working towards the same goal… to live a full life now and to be prepared for the awakening that spring brings.

Quantum Physics tells us that we are all energy.  Our energy is connected to all of the energy in the Universe.  Since we are all connected, our energy affects the energy of those around us.  Not only in our homes and with the ones we love, but also in our communities.  February is a slog through the end of winter.  If we try to find the connections to life and beauty in February and fill up our cups with the joy of what we see… we can pass this on to the next person.  Maybe just one smile offered to a complete stranger could make their day, and change the energy they share. 

 

February is also a good time to talk about pathways.  In the garden, all the plants are dead or dormant.  It is very easy to see the path. There is nothing to distract your eye from the way through the garden.  The path is clearly shown.  If you took my advice in January, put up a 3 x 5 card with your intention on it, and focused on it daily, you should be seeing the results by now.  These results may be in the form of a new insight into your situation, a change of attitude (your thoughts changed about the problem) or the success of changing your reality (problem gone, done, over).  January was for planning (the intention) and February is for finding the path.  Your world is affected by your thoughts.  We are fully capable of changing our thoughts and thus changing our reality.  Put up a 3 x 5 card with your new intention on it.  Think of the path now, where is it leading you?

It’s also good to snuggle in bed on the cold dark nights of February and read.  I have a recommendation for you all:  “The Field” by Lynne McTaggert (2008 HarperCollins).  This book was the scientific confirmation of those things I knew only by faith before.

 

Seasons and cycles are a part of life.  Our energies ebb and flow.  Everything is an energy exchange.  Find the good energy that the February garden offers, and help others by gratefully offering up that energy to them.  Buy a coffee for the lady behind you at Starbucks today.  Smile at a stranger.  Listen when someone wants to talk.  Make your day by sharing.

 

Meditations:

 

 

When the healthy nature of man acts as a whole,

when he feels himself to be in the world as in a great, beautiful, noble, and valued whole,

when harmonious ease affords him a pure and free delight,

then the universe, if it could experience itself, would exult, as having attained its goal,

and admire the climax of its own becoming and essence.
 -Goethe

What we plant in the soil of contemplation, we shall reap in the harvest of action.
 -Meister Eckhart

Kind words do not cost much. They never blister the tongue or lips. Though they do not cost much, they accomplish much. They make other people good-natured. They also produce their own image in other people's souls.

 - Pascal