Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Throwing ourselves out

"When we are self-conscious, we cannot be wholly aware; we must throw ourselves out first.  This throwing ourselves away is the act of creativity.  So, when we wholly concentrate, like a child in play, or an artist at work, then we share in the act of creating.  We not only escape time, we also escape our self-conscious selves."  Madeleine L'Engle
When I read this in "Glimpses of Grace" this morning I immediately thought of how I am when I'm working in the garden.  I feel that I escape my self-conscious self, that I am wholly absorbed in creation.  Not creating, but absorbed in God's creation.  And that is why it's such wonderful therapy and such a soul-feeding activity.
We had a few minutes of rain this evening, enough to wet the leaves and the grass but not enough to soak into the ground.
The wind blew and there was thunder and lightening.
But very little rain.  So I took advantage of the slightly cooler temperature and went out after dinner to pull weeds and deadhead blooms.  A little soul-feeding therapy is a good way to end the day.
There's an 80% chance of thunderstorms through tomorrow morning, so I'm still hoping we'll get a little rain!

8 comments:

Southern Lady said...

Thanks for stopping by. We are needing some rain around here, too. It has been very hot for weeks now and everything is drying up. I heard some thunder today, but no rain yet. Hope you have a wonderful night! Carla

garden girl said...

What a wonderful quote Ginny. That sounds like my kind of book! I can so relate to that feeling of being wholly absorbed in something, especially gardening, and losing myself, feeling as one with nature.

Thank you for visiting and commenting on my blog. Your blog is lovely and I'm happy to find it.

Amy said...

I totally agree...I love to be outside. It doesn't matter if I am digging, pulling weeds, etc. I always have a different perspective on things when I go in the house. :)

Anonymous said...

'Be still my soul' - that's what I feel like as soon as I'm in the garden.

Kyna said...

I see you're having the same problems as I am here near Jacksonville. Sometimes I feel like there's a dome over my house, because we've had so little rain. It'll be pouring in J-ville while I'm at work, but I'll come home about 30 minutes away, and not a drop has touched my yard. We did get a little bit of a downpour last night though, thank goodness. My lawn is super-crunchy.

tina said...

Food for the soul is awesome. Weeding does that for me every single time I think. When my kids were younger and I needed a release, weeding was it. Something about endorphins-it works! I'm most happy today because I'm heading outside soon;)

Carol Michel said...

Hi Ginny, I got your comment asking about the herbal mosquito repellent that I use... and thought a comment would be the easiest way to answer. I use Burt's Bees brand insect repellent. It is a bit pricey but works quite well for me.

Rosie Nixon Fluerty said...

I see glimpses of grace every where I go now - when you see the tiniest of things in nature and then realise how complex they really are like eg lichen. I am continually in awe at all the beauty in nature that God made for us - just think what it must have looked like before the fall!

Gardening is so theraputic and good for the soul!

Have a lovely holiday weekend :) Rosie