bleeding heart (dicentra luxuriant)
Dearest Readers,

The following story is an excerpt from my book Plant Whatever Brings You Joy: Blessed Wisdom from the Garden, a book of 52 stories illustrating the universal wisdom drawn from working in my gardens.

Love and happy spring blessings!
Kathryn xoxo

Judge Not the Flower By Its Bud

Shortly after moving to my new home in North Carolina I discovered a bleeding heart plant growing in between the bushes in front of the house. I recognized it as a shade-loving plant and happily transplanted
it to a shady corner behind the house. As the little flowers emerged I was struck with disappointment and nostalgia, as these were not the same flowers I had come to love in California, the ones I knew well, the ones I had bought in nurseries at home. Two weeks later my heart filled with joy as I stumbled upon a nursery tucked below the road I had taken on errands, and outside in the various lovely displays I found another bleeding heart, with the very flowers that I associated with my home state. Delighted, I purchased it immediately, going straight home to plant it in a big clay pot I’d found on sale the week before.

Imagine my surprise when the following week I walked through the shade garden and found the little flowers I had snubbed the week before were identical to the ones I had just bought. Apparently I had never seen a bleeding heart in bud before, always opting to buy fully mature versions in nurseries, never having grown them from seed. I laughed at myself, realizing I had judged the flower by its bud, indeed, had not even recognized it as a bud! I began to wonder how many times I might have judged some creative effort, either my own or someone else’s, in the same manner. How many times have we encountered a fledgling effort and rejected it as not good enough, as a waste of time or as stupid? When had we been willing to bring forth the virtues of patience and close observation, and allowed the time to pass for full maturation, we might have found that what we first thought unacceptable grew to the loveliest of flowers that sustained us for many years.

Book News! Delighted to recount that Ode Magazine is running an excerpt from Plant Whatever Brings You Joy in their June issue. Doubly happy to say that as this particular story takes place in Amsterdam Ode Magazine has translated the story into Dutch (!!) and will additionally run in the Dutch version of Ode in Holland! As if that were not enough delight, in May Ode Magazine online is running the story of the Scarf Initiative project, in which so many of you lovingly and generously participated, replete with ten photos of that stupendous event! Exciting! I will be sure to post a link here and on Twitter once it’s up!

Posted on April 14th, 2011 by Kathryn
Filed under: Plants | 8 Comments »

Zelkova trees in Sendai, lighted for annual Pageant of Starlight

Sendai is recognized throughout Japan for its exquisite nature and called as “mori no miyako” or the City of Trees. From the lush greenery of the zelkova trees that line the streets, to the clear and tranquil Hirose-gawa River that winds through the heart of the city, to the beautiful scenery that offers a peaceful atmosphere, Sendai is a modern city in harmony with nature.

A letter from Japan

On Mar 13, 2011, at 9:59 AM, SUSAN wrote:
From my cousin Anne Thomas in Sendai , Japan where she has lived for the past decade teaching English. Very moving.

Hello My Lovely Family and Friends,

First I want to thank you so very much for your concern for me. I am very touched. I also wish to apologize for a generic message to you all. But it seems The best way at the moment to get my message to you.

Things here in Sendai have been rather surreal. But I am very blessed to have wonderful friends who are helping me a lot. Since my shack is even more worthy of that name, I am now staying at a friend’s home. We share supplies like water, food and a kerosene heater. We sleep lined up in one room, eat by candlelight, share stories. It is warm, friendly, and beautiful.

During the day we help each other clean up the mess in our homes. People sit in their cars, looking at news on their navigation screens, or line up to get drinking water when a source is open. If someone has water running in their home, they put out sign so people can come to fill up their jugs and buckets.

Utterly amazingly, where I am there has been no looting, no pushing in lines. People leave their front door open, as it is safer when an earthquake strikes. People keep saying, “Oh, this is how it used to be in the old days when everyone helped one another.”

Quakes keep coming. Last night they struck about every 15 minutes. Sirens are constant and helicopters pass overhead often.

We got water for a few hours in our homes last night, and now it is for half a day. Electricity came on this afternoon. Gas has not yet come on. But all of this is by area. Some people have these things, others do not. No one has washed for several days. We feel grubby, but there are so much more important concerns than that for us now. I love this peeling away of non-essentials. Living fully on the level of instinct, of intuition, of caring, of what is needed for survival, not just of me, but of the entire group.

There are strange parallel universes happening. Houses a mess in some places, yet then a house with futons or laundry out drying in the sun. People lining up for water and food, and yet a few people out walking their dogs. All happening at the same time.

Other unexpected touches of beauty are first, the silence at night. No cars. No one out on the streets. And the heavens at night are scattered with stars. I usually can see about two, but now the whole sky is filled. The mountains of Sendai are solid, and with the crisp air we can see them silhouetted against the sky magnificently.

And the Japanese themselves are so wonderful. I come back to my shack to check on it each day, now to send this e-mail since the electricity is on, and I find food and water left in my entranceway. I have no idea from whom, but it is there. Old men in green hats go from door to door checking to see if everyone is OK. People talk to complete strangers asking if they need help. I see no signs of fear. Resignation, yes, but fear or panic, no.

They tell us we can expect aftershocks, and even other major quakes, for another month or more. And we are getting constant tremors, rolls, shaking, rumbling. I am blessed in that I live in a part of Sendai that is a bit elevated, a bit more solid than other parts. So, so far this area is better off than others. Last night my friend’s husband came in from the country, bringing food and water. Blessed again.

Somehow at this time I realize from direct experience that there is indeed an enormous cosmic evolutionary step that is occurring all over the world right at this moment. And somehow as I experience the events happening now in Japan , I can feel my heart opening very wide. My brother asked me if I felt so small because of all that is happening. I don’t. Rather, I feel as part of something happening that much larger than myself. This wave of birthing (worldwide) is hard, and yet magnificent.

Thank you again for your care and Love of me,

With Love in return, to you all,
Anne

Tend your hearts, dear readers.
Love and blessings,
Kathryn xoxo

Posted on March 16th, 2011 by Kathryn
Filed under: Planet Earth | 23 Comments »