After 20 years of cheerleading and pleading with plants to grow in my tiny Kodiak Island plots of compost, seaweed and volcanic ash, I've come to accept that my garden is more than soil that yields food and beauty. It is my teacher, and its lessons universal. I've learned patience while waiting three weeks for carrot seeds to germinate, and the value of "slow gardening" by picking lettuce leaves unhurriedly so as not to harm innocent bystanders. As Ecknath Easwaran reminds us in his book, "Love Never Faileth," "Hurry makes for tension, insecurity, inefficiency, and superficial living."But on that morning, my lesson was as subtle as a drop of water, yet as large as the ocean... more »
