I find that weeding gives me great time to think

[TNNurse]

Now, you have to get out there early before it gets too hot. You are away from the noise of the TV and the internet.

It is Sunday morning. I do not go to church. I was raised in a Methodist church in GA. No one yelled or threatened in that church. We were not told or taught that God was mean and seeking to punish us. We were not taught that if we did bad things it was because of the devil. I never fell for that devil or (Devil) crap for a moment. If you were bad it was your fault. I learned that a man named Jesus lived and taught a great way to live. I guess it was really pretty simple. "Jesus loves the little children. all the children of the world. Red any yellow, black and white they are precious in his sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world." That was the lesson I learned. I may not be a very good Christian, but I want to live by those principles.

I have seen people quoting the song from South Pacific lately..."You have to be carefully taught....to hate all the people your relatives hate.." Fortunately for me, I was not aware of any people my relatives hated and for that I am eternally grateful.

I often think of when my high school was integrated in 1965. My mother was the school librarian. We met in the car in the afternoon and compared how many times we were called "N-lover" that day. I learned from her to say...."yes, I am". Imagine, the students felt OK to call one of their teachers that.

Those were my thoughts this morning as I weeded the blackberries and raspberries because we finally got some rain and it was still cool.

[djean111]

1. I find that weeding and, oddly, just picking up leaves on at a time from my lanai,

are great ways to get to mindfulness. I just think about what I am doing, and let everything else ratcheting around in my poor tired noggin slip away.

[Frustratedlady]

2. I must have gone to the same Methodist church...

and came away with the same beliefs.

I might add that if you lived where I live, you would have mega time to think, as we have been inundated with rain. I'd share if I could figure out how to do so. The weeds are having a heyday!

[TNNurse]

4. We are in East TN

our little piece of earth has needed rain for a couple of weeks....the water bill will be steep this month. We had a couple of inches Saturday and the weeds were thriving but were pretty easy to get out....at least as long as I lasted.

I think of Methodists as pretty calm mellow people. We learned love and were not taught to fear God. That is so wrong.

[Frustratedlady]

6. Yes, they are more "live and let live" people. If our ministers

had preached hate, hell and damnation, they would have seen the backs of their congregation as they walked out the door.

We have enough to do without hating and fearing.

[B2G]

7. Same here.

I was raised Methodist and my experience was almost identical.

It's been super dry but we've had 3 inches of rain in the past 2 days...weeding will most definitely be on my list next weekend.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

3. I was just out cleaning up around the raspberries this morning too.

Got the season's harvest in, so it's time to get the old floricanes out to clean up the patch.

Working with nature is always a great way to reinforce how we're all part of a universal web, all connected, and that we work best when we work in harmony, rather than fighting each other.

[IDemo]

5. I should be Stephen Hawking and Socrates combined by now..

But yes, I generally get up at 5 or 5:30AM, and the quiet and cool air makes for a great environment for pondering, be it over the garden health or broader issues.

It's supposed to hit 109 here today, so I will likely not be outside much later in the day.

[Adrahil]

8. Care to "think" at my house? :) n/t

[TNNurse]

12. Appreciate the offer

but there are years worth of work for me here. Now that we will both soon be retired perhaps we can make a visible dent in the things that we wish were not growing where they are. I believe if honeysuckle and poison ivy were cash crops we would be very very wealthy.

[pinto]

9. Thanks for the post. I find the same break for "mindfullness" early AM. I'm up at 5 or so.

And silence for about an hour is the norm. No TV, computer, radio, etc. Usually no lights either. I can hear the town start to go about its day and I catch the first light of my own day. A nice time to just sit.

[BumRushDaShow]

10. Another early bird

After all the rain we got overnight, the soil was soft and the weeds were easier to pull. It definitely helps in a therapeutic sense to refocus and have a period of calm reflection before re-entering the carnival and hopping back on the wildly spinning and chaotic merry-go-round of life.

Of course regarding the theme of your OP, Michael Jackson did try to bridge a huge gap almost 25 years ago, by putting your sentiment out there through music.

[Katashi_itto]

11. Crap I thought this was a different kind of "Weeding"

[TNNurse]

13. Sorry to disappoint.

[Katashi_itto]

14. :)

[TNNurse]

15. Perhaps I should add a family story.

I have a double name...you know I am southern. I am named for sisters who never married and always lived together. I use both names so not to offend either. They are long gone but I am still proud to bear their names.

When the younger sister began to have some memory problems she was not happy. She was younger and asked why her and not her sister had this problem.

I was honored to hear the reply. Older sister..

" You worked hard at your job at the bank and did people's taxes and helped with estates in your off time. I went to school and taught and came home and dug in the yard and grew things. I rested my brain, and you wore yours out". It pleased younger sister and calmed her.

In our family we refer to working in your yard or garden as "Resting your brain". We believe it helps.

[sjk.fly4ever]

16. I agree!

I agree!!!

Stephan.