Weeding and Mowing in the Dark

It takes very little, really, to reset ourselves, to reboot our spirit. Sometimes we are so overwhelmed with the swarm of our worries we have no room to hear the hive of wonder buzzing around us all the time.

Tonight, after a long day of intense work, I sat on the deck, drank a glass of red wine, grilled steaks, and read Virginia Woolf. When dinner was done, I went into the yard, still hours of work ahead of me, and mowed our tiny lawn and pulled these enormous weeds that grew like metaphors for the trials of the last few months. 

And it was good. And I felt the heart reset itself once again, so that sitting in the quiet of my deck in the dark after I was done, smelling of fresh cut grass, the stars spelled out across the nightscape, I could hear the birds singing tree to tree and was reminded how quickly we can become human again if only we take the time to try.

Comments

[Jenny Wood]

Thanks, Jim. I loved this post.

[Katie]

I love the line: "pulled these enormous weeds that grew like metaphors for the trials of the last few months." We have a permanent camp ground of weeds we are constantly trying to push out...it's a work in progress so there is always something to do that helps me pause, relax and reflect.

[Joseph Burke]

Great writing, Jim. The narrative of life is where it's at. You've just proven that. I was interested all the way through, even though it was about cutting the grass and pulling the weeds, the more important meaning shines through.

[Darcy Moore]

I know this feeling well, Jim! Nice piece. #reset

@Darcy1968