We thought it would be a great idea to plant a vegetable garden this summer. My husband and I wanted to share with our son, the experience of growing life with the simple ingredients of air, sunlight and water. We also wanted to teach him about the importance of sustainable living – growing our own food is one way of diminishing waste and environmental impact on our planet. Plus, gardening is akin to meditation. Seriously, the intention of meditation is to invite your mind away from distraction toward a single focus. Tending a garden and weeding can be quite meditative and focused. At least, that’s what I keep trying to tell my husband.
Our son is 4. His attention span is that of a 4 year old. He doesn’t have time to sit, garden and meditate with us, he just wants to know when we can eat the tomatoes. So, we water the veggies as we’re running out the door to go do something else. Perhaps they’ll grow. We have been on the go like this, in high speed, since the first day summer was announced.
We’ve played in parks and splash pads, walked around the zoo, hiked at the in-laws’ cottage, kayaked at my parents’ cottage, we’ve been swimming in public pools and friends’ pools, taken long rides on our bikes, been to soccer practice and we’ve signed our son up for sports camp in August. While organizing this social schedule of our son’s is exhausting and testing my time-management skills, at least it is filled with activities that keep us, well… active!
I’m not a gym girl and probably never will be, so a variety of outdoor activities, is exactly what I need. And it just seems to be so much easier to incorporate physical activity into our family life during the summer months. Perhaps it’s that we have a wider variety of outdoor activities available to us at this time of year, or maybe we’re… okay I’m just a “fair weather athlete” who wouldn’t go outdoors in the snowy months regardless of what excitement there may be. Whatever the case, I am currently feeling the positive effects of all of this physical activity (read: I’m not so upset about how I’m looking in bike shorts this year). The other positive effect of all of this movement is my cleared, energized and positive state of mind. After a great bike ride, with our son on the trail-a-bike behind me, I’m rejuvenated and ready to take it back to the mat. Exploring the calming and relaxing benefits of yoga after the energy, adrenaline and endorphins of a physical activity, is a lovely contrast. Plus, doesn’t everybody need a good stretch after being active? What’s more, physical activity clears my mind of the clutter and overthinking, allowing me to successfully sit still, find focus and meditate.
Maybe this is a good lesson for our son: let’s go run around and get sweaty and out of breath from playing, having fun and being fit; then let’s go weed the garden because it’s like meditating. I’m not sure he’ll buy that rationale, but it’s worth a shot if we’re ever going to eat our own tomatoes.
