I have been growing carrots in the garden for several seasons and decided to let some go to seed this summer so they could plant themselves and sprout and grow when they wanted to. It has been a very beautiful, satisfying, and relaxing process to watch. It also cut back on several time consuming tasks: Pulling the bolted plants out and taking them to the compost pile, numerous successive plantings of seeds, and buying seed packets (I would have spent a fortune to buy as much seeds as those carrots made). Instead I just let the seed stalks lean over and drop their seeds where and when they wanted. Some of them I encouraged to lean where I wanted them to drop. Others I pulled off and sprinkled the dried seeds in a different bed. Now I have a gazillion baby carrots coming up. And I also have a more complete appreciation for the carrot. Here is a poem I wrote about the wisdom I received from this beautiful plant.
From the Carrot Patch:
Lessons
on life, love, and letting go
My
root was once tender
Sweet
with love
For
this patch of soil
A
landing, a pantry, a community
Drawing
in this love
Sending
it up to light
Sprouting
shoots towards the sun
Feeling
the union of earth and sky
Dark
and light
At
my crown
The
dance of life within me
Sweet
with joy
With
the touch of neighbors
Roots
and leaves mingling
And
watching them disappear
One
by one
Collapse,
emptiness, and begin again
Drawing
into my core
Squeezing
tears of rain
Extracting
life from life
I
swell, stretch, and reach up
Each
moment making love
With
the elements
With
what is here
With
my nature
Feeling
the season pass
Urgency
arises to blossom
To
share my essence
The
bliss of giving
All
of my self to this moment
My
root becomes knarled
Tight
and tired
Nibbled
and worn
My
stalk holds firm
I
squeeze these last tears of love
Up
into bloom
Seeds
Gifts
to the world
Whatever
life has given me
I
give back
To
the last breath
My
seeds grow heavy
Hanging
down
Dropping
onto a new patch
I
linger to feel them sprout
Then
give all that is left of me
Back
to this patch of life
To
feed my new selves
How
I will grow!
The cycle just keeps repeating. As I was reading this I realized that I can choose to be part of the cycle or I can block the flow of love, light and nourishment that is there for me. Funny how I failed to notice the abundance of all that I needed when it was there for me. I chose to experience darkness, fear, despair and longing. Having experienced those has made it much easier to recognize the abundant love, light and nourishment. I wonder if the scrawny mealy carrots, that sometimes appear, are going through a cycle of blindness. "None so blind as those that will not see." Beautiful poem! Thank you Sama for the inspiration!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful poem, I have never had much luck with carrots, planting, thinning, waiting for the perfect size & formation. Always with little results, deformed, small, skinny no sturcture. Giving up with no satisfaction! Though in reading your poem, really in our spirtual growth we grow best by opening up our hearts freely and letting in the light & love to nourish our bodies. Why would a plant want anything different?Not concentrating on the perfections in our lives and letting life fall where it may fall and giving acceptance just like the carrot would better serve us all, isnt if funny how we can learn so much from a carrot? Thank You Sama
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