Potter in the Garden

There is something grounding about getting your hands into a bit of soil. Watching something you planted actually come up. Tidying a border, or pulling a few weeds, or just sitting among a few plants in the sun with no particular intention.

You do not need a grand garden or any real skill, and you certainly do not need to know the proper names for anything. A couple of pots on a windowsill or a step counts every bit as much as an acre. This is not gardening in the competitive sense. Nobody is judging it.

It is the pottering itself that does you good. The slow and simple care of a living thing, on a timescale that has nothing to do with your week. Plants are completely indifferent to whatever is on your mind, and they will not be rushed, and there is something quietly steadying about being around something that is getting on with it regardless.

It also gives your hands something to do while your head sorts itself out in the background, which is often when the sorting actually happens.

So if you have a garden, a yard, or even a single plant on a sill, give it a bit of attention this Wednesday. Ten minutes will do it. It has a lovely way of quieting the mind without ever seeming to try.