Tending Your Own Garden

(This is not the garden at the church, nor is it my garden;
this was taken at the Biltmore mansion in Asheville, NC.)

On Saturday, I was at the church where my husband serves as pastor, and it was work day. Living in Manhattan I rarely get the opportunity to dig in dirt, so I took the opportunity with relish. I planted hyacinth bulbs in planters and pulled wild onions (weeds, to me) and raked leaves from under bushes. It was a beautiful day and it was great to have dirt under my nails.

With all that happened last week, it really got me to thinking. How can we tend our gardens? How do we tend our gardens in such a way that allows others the room that they need to grow and flourish? How can we know when others are experiencing such pain that they need to be tended to as well?

I think we too often trample on others gardens -- in the name of national security or faith or belief system. We are better at blame than self-reflection and we are better at retribution than mercy.

So for this week, on this Earth Day 2013, I want to invite you to reflect on what it might mean for you to tend your garden, to take responsibility for the small patch of this planet that you occupy, to take ownership for the ways in which we (individually and collectively) fail to be good neighbors. I want to invite you to get out your rake and hose and blower and get your hands dirty and your brow sweaty. I want to invite you to do something that will make you smile -- just because.

Let's make this world a place where we can all tend our gardens and watch them grow.