It looks like being another hot day. The garden isn’t going to cope by itself, I shall have to do some watering I think, especially since I sowed grass seed a few days ago.
Then I shall find any excuse possible to sit in the garden for much of the day. I firmly believe that although it’s important to keep busy and active, it’s also important not to fear being still. Making time for stillness is one of the most important things we can do in a day, and yet all too often I find myself making excuses not to: I’ve got meals to cook, washing to do, research for my book, writing up notes, blogging…. Oh, you name it and I’ve probably used it at least once for an excuse!
Yet these ‘quiet times’ are vital to preserve our sanity. Everything moves so quickly, people (even in my neck of the woods) are always in a hurry. And of course modern life contrives to make a bad situation worse. Gadgets, gismos, noise – I can guarantee that no hour in the garden passes without someone getting out their Black and Decker and getting stuck into their latest DIY project.
We need to learn to screen these distractions out. Some people do it better than others. Some learn at an early age that maybe everything isn’t perfect, but if you get six out of ten things right in any given situation it’s probably bearable (depending on the nature and intensity of the remaining four.) Some however seem to think that having everything perfect is their right – they must have ten out of ten things right, even if that means imposing restrictions on others so that their quality of life flies out of the window.
When my children were small I brought them up to enjoy quiet times. Life wasn’t a long merry go round of entertainment. Sometimes the summer holidays could seem boring. One year I got an allotment and they spent weeks just digging holes. We didn’t get to grow much but the other gardeners were such a kind hearted bunch I think they felt sorry for a woman with a bunch of children and gave us loads of their own produce.
Another year we each made a club. One daughter ran ‘The Comic Strip Club’ where everyone had to read comics, talk about them and try to draw comic strips. I ran a Folklore Club which involved talking them on long walks and talking about plants and legends. Mr Penry ran a Moonlight Walk club – on hot summer nights they were allowed to stay up late and we all (including the dogs) went out walking in the fields, looking out for the moon, stars, bats, bunnies and poachers (only we took care to keep a safe distance from them!)
Where I live, children are still mostly children. You see groups of them with a sleeping bag and a bottle of pop going off to the park to sleep out under the night sky. But more and more they are changing – girls of about six routinely wearing high heels (where do they get them that size?), fancy hairstyles and expensive designer clothes don’t fare well by sleeping in the open. And once that changes, they’ll lose the magic to pass on to their own children when the time comes.
