Gardening is an effective way to be in touch with our roots. To be closer to the nature. To be a part of this environment. And for this all, today, we will talk about how to grow a habit of mindful gardening.
When you are spending time in garden, you can make it a practice of being mindful while doing the gardening works. This will help you to become more aware of your body, and the nature. It’s like a pause ritual, right in the middle of the hustle and bustle of life’s daily routine. Pause and breathe the beauty of nature.
Mindful gardening is an act of showing your love, care, and concern for your beloved garden. This is a way of feeling a connection with mother earth. It also helps in cultivating a healthy bonding with the environment. Planting the seeds with utmost care, touching soil with love, and nurturing the plants like your babies, this all help you in finding peace of mind. Take a moment to pause, breathe, and being mindful while gardening.

Here are some steps that help you in mindful gardening.

Appreciate the nature:

When you spend time in nature, remember to appreciate the environment. Appreciate everything that you come across. Show some appreciation for the flowers blossomed today, for their sweet fragrance, their color and their love in abundance. For their abundance in your garden, it looks so beautiful. Appreciate your garden and speak to the plants. You will feel that they hear your words, they converse with you. They are your friends.

Walking on the grass:

This is a beautiful way to feel the earth. When you walk bare feet on the grass, you feel the sensation in your feet. Feel the sense of the grass tips beneath your feet. Feel how the blades feel between your toes. Is there any other sense that you could feel? Is there any calmness that you can feel around you? Try to pay attention to your senses: what you smell, what you hear, what you touch.

Study a flower:

Find a quiet space in your garden and sit in solitude. Sit close to a plant with blossoms. Have a few deep breaths and feel the calm within. Now, choose a flower and bring it closer to you. Start your observation carefully.
Pay attention to the parts of the flower.
Ask yourself that how the petals look at this present moment? How the color is looking right now? Is it vibrant or faded? Examine how you see the texture of the petals. Touch the leaf edges and feel the softness. Observe their pattern too.
Then, smell the flower and ask yourself how the fragrance seems to you.

Be grateful:

Be grateful for the nature’s abundance.
When you look around with an eye of observation, at a moment, you will see there are lots of things to be grateful for. When you walk in the garden, slowly, feel the nature’s abundance around. Be grateful for your breath, be grateful for your moves, for your steps. Be grateful for the plants, for the beautiful blossoms in your garden, for the grass below your feet.
Being grateful helps you to reduce the anxiety level. The sense of thankfulness becomes a part of your mindful living.

Listen to the sound of the nature:

While spending time in nature, listen to the sound that comes from the environment. Be calm and observe the nature. You will be able to listen to the chirping of the birds, distant sound of urban noise but with calming vibes, fine drizzle of leaves, blowing sound of breeze, humming sound of bees and a lot more. And meanwhile within this all, you will be able to hear the silence.

(This post is a part of the blogging campaign Cause A Chatter powered by Blogchatter. For this campaign I am writing a series titled Nature, the Healer. Here I will be talking about the meaningful connection between the environment and you.)