Why Garden?
People pick up their gardening tools and head for their gardens daily for many reasons. Most of these reasons surround the fact that, gardening is considered a wonderful past-time and hobby. However, there is more to gardening than most people realize. It offers its participants many other valuable benefits as well. Gardening is great for the mind, the body, the soul and the spirit.
High stress jobs are unfortunate by-products of the high-tech society in which we live. Being that many people work in high stress situations, it is important that these individuals have an outlet or a way to relax and wind down after a long work day or a long work week. Gardening is a great way to relax one’s mind after a stressful day because it offers the opportunity to engage in mindless activities that give the mind a hiatus away from the pressures of the day or even from the pressures of life. For instance, weeding one’s garden requires little or no brain power; therefore it is a perfect way to give one’s mind a break from the cerebral process.
Gardening is great for the body because as gardeners spend time, weeding, planting, dead-heading, raking, tilling, etc. their bodies are busy burning fat and calories. Gardening is a great low-impact work-out for the body. Not only will gardeners enjoy a slimmer more svelte physique as a result of gardening but gardening also offers health benefits such as mood enhancement, which is a recognized benefit of regular exercise. Additionally, gardeners also get vitamin D from the sun which is good for the teeth and the bones.
As gardeners work to till the ground, plant their seeds and retrieve their harvest from the earth, they are essentially communing and becoming one with nature. Communing with nature is good for one’s soul in that it helps gardeners to remain grounded. Gardening also serves as a reminder that all things in life are essentially connected. Much of what one sees and experiences everyday in life is mimicked or echoed in gardening as well. For example, in gardening as in life there is death, displeasure, disappointment and regret. There is also evidence of energy, renewal, joy and vitality in gardening and in life.
Finally, gardening is good for the spirit in that it helps to strengthen and to build one’s resolve and determination, one’s can-do spirit, one’s faith in their abilities, and one’s sheer chutzpah. As gardeners become busy working in their gardens, fighting back weeds and doing what it takes to ensure the livelihood and the health of their plants, they are also working on themselves and on their character. Being determined, having faith refusing to accept defeat and achieving great success in one’s garden help gardeners to realize what it takes to be successful in the rest of their life as well.
Gardening is hard work, but many gardeners will tell you that it is a labor of love. The benefits to be had from gardening far out weigh any negatives associated with the task. So, pick up those gardening utensils, find a willing piece of earth and have at it! You just might improve your mind, your body, your soul and your spirit in the process.
