September 26, 2021
Imagination, Day 27
“A student, filled with emotion and crying, implored, “Why is there so much suffering?”
Suzuki Roshi replied, “No reason.”
― Shunryu Suzuki
The renowned seventh-century Zen master Seng-tsan taught that true freedom is being “without anxiety about imperfection.”
― Tara Brach,
For many years, when planning and installing a garden, it has been my practice to picture the project in my mind as it will look in five years.
I had such a mental image when we planted the meditation garden at the Myrtle Hill Cemetery. Yesterday, Dekie and I visited the garden and found it basking in the late morning sun, smiling at the world. The actuality of this garden, 6 years after planting, has surpassed my expectations.
The theme of the garden is “Seven Hills, Three Rivers,” imitating the three rivers and seven hills that our beautiful Rome, Georgia is built on.
And there’s something magic about those hills (or berms) in the garden. I have never seen a garden grow like this one. I don’t know if it is the dirt or the elevation that makes the difference. Perhaps it is the aura of all of the memories of the many beautiful people who found this site as their final resting place.
I just don’t know. I do know, that it feels good to be in this garden.
—john schulz
Patience is the best plant food
johntheplantman--Gardening 