DIRT THERAPY

This is a corner of my back yard where I have been
doing DIRT therapy. A mix of vegetable plants and
berries on the left; a volunteer squash plant in the
center that is quickly taking over a 12-foot roundish
bed. More squash plants behind it as well as flowers
and shrubs in various stages of blooming.

I started daily DIRT therapy a little over a week ago. DIRT therapy is Digging In Residential Territory, aka weeding and trimming my yard and garden. 

Events in my life have led me to the realization I need to take better care of myself. To slow down and change my workaholic habits, which have continued even though I "retired" over a decade ago. And I want to spend more focused time with my furbabies and the people who are precious to me. 

To some, this may not sound difficult. But I have been indoctrinated since birth to always be busy. For me, changing decades of habit is best accomplished in baby steps, and perhaps fooling the part of my mind that pushes me to work hard. 

DIRT therapy is one of the steps of that change. Each morning before I get caught up in the demands of the day or the priorities of other people, I put on my yard clothes and a pair of gloves, grab a shovel or clippers, and head out into my yard.

Digging in the dirt feeds my soul. I also love blooming flowers and fresh vegetables from my own garden. Daily DIRT therapy keeps my yard neat and welcoming rather than adding stress about the usual mid-summer takeover of weeds. As a side benefit, I'm getting in shape again without that being one more task on a never-ending list of things to do. Also, digging and trimming can be hard work, so the slave-driver part of my mind is satisfied. 

Then comes another baby step in taking better care of myself and those I love. I allow myself time to sit in the shade with an icy glass of water and absorb the beauty and bounty of my DIRT therapy.

Squash plants that spread their leafy tentacles almost a foot a day give me great delight. An accidental combination of crocosmia and daylilies in a beautiful, airy bouquet gives me joy every time I see them in my kitchen window. Harvesting lettuce from seeds I've planted makes salads taste so much better.

I'm quite pleased with my venture into DIRT therapy, and plan to continue this until it becomes a habit. Then I'll add another baby step in taking better care of myself and those I love.

How about you? Do you have a favorite habit that helps feed your soul?