The Moon Matters

Do you think you know about the moon? Do you even care about the moon?

In our day to day lives, we rarely take time to look upward at the heavens. The sun rises and sets without any fanfare and the moon is paid little attention with its constant presence in the sky out shined by the sun. But there was a time in history when the MOON MATTERED.

The Next Full Moon is Thursday morning, Oct. 17, 2024, at 7:26 a.m. EDT and it's a Supermoon; the Hunter's Moon; the Travel Moon, the Dying Grass Moon, or the Sanguine or Blood Moon; the start of Sukkoth; Sharad Purnima, Kumara Purnima, Kojagari Purnima, Navanna Purnima Kojagrat Purnima, or Kaumudi Purnima; the end of Vassa and Pavarana; the Thadingyut Festival Moon; the end of the Phaung Daw U Pagoda Festival; and Vap Poya.

According to the Royal Museums Greenwich, the “Hunter's Moon” was named by Native Americans, so named because it gives hunters longer periods of night with which to stalk prey during the fall months. All of the names for this particular moon and related festivals/celebrations would make one believe this moon is special. But this will be the third of four consecutive supermoons (and the brightest by a tiny margin).

The moon has always been viewed and painted in poetry as mysterious. Adding to the mystery of moons is the fact this supermoon is in the month when little ones and adults dress up as ghost, witches, and goblins. Did you know that the word lunatic comes from the Latin luna, because it was believed that people were more likely to exhibit aberrant behavior during a full moon? For many Pagans, the cycles of the moon are important to magical workings. It's believed in some traditions that the waxing moon, the full moon, the waning moon and the new moon all have their own special magical properties. 

Inevitably, sometimes controversially, the moon is associated with fertility, and many believe the moon's influence over love, sex, and reproduction is part of a rhythm seen in the natural world. Does a supermoon make you super sexy, super desirable, or super sexy? Maybe we should be paying more attention to the moon.

When the moon waxes, life is said to grow and abundance is present, whereas desire diminishes during its waning cycle. In New Zealand, Maori myth says that a young girl named Rona displeased the Moon so that he seized her and took her far away to him. Grabbing a tree, she dragged it with her, the tree symbolizing fertility.

In the above folklore, the moon is depicted as male, while in the majority of myths the moon is referred to as female. The moon is a feminine symbol, universally representing the rhythm of time as it embodies the cycles. The phases of the moon symbolize immortality and eternity, enlightenment or the dark side of Nature herself. The Moon is generally thought of as feminine; due to the connection between its phases and a woman's monthly cycles (that's where the term 'menstrual' comes from). As the average length of women's menstrual cycles matches the moon's 29.5-day waxing and waning cycle.

Isis is the moon goddess in Egyptian culture. N"Game is the moon goddess of West Africa. Her name translates to “the shining one.” N’Game was known for creating all of the heavenly bodies. Chang'e, is the moon goddess of China. She was married to Hou Yi, an archer and emperor. Cerridwen, commonly referred to as the dark moon goddess is the Celtic goddess of the underworld. She is the keeper of the cauldron of knowledge.  Artemis is the Greek goddess of the moon, hunting, archery and midwifery. Selene is the goddess of the moon in Greek mythology. Hecate is the moon goddess of magic, witchcraft, the night, ghosts, necromancy and of course, the moon. In the Mayan folklore, Ixchel translates to rainbow woman; she is the goddess of the moon, love, gestation, medicine and textile arts. There are many more moon goddesses, too many to name here.

Not only does the moon hold myth and mystery, but it has also crossed into our expressions. The expression "once in a Blue Moon" is derived from the rarity of the event, as it is a second full moon in a calendar month, occurring only every two to three years. There are also many people who incorporate the phases of the moon into spiritual practices and moon bathe.

A moon bath is a ritual that involves immersing oneself in the moon's energy during specific phases of the moon. It's a spiritual practice that's believed to help people connect with nature, find balance, and improve their overall well-being. Moon bathing was an ancient Indian practice that involved going outside and standing or laying under the moonlight to benefit from its healing properties. Instead of going outside like ancient Indians, today's moon bathers prefer the privacy of the warm waters of their bathtub, along with bath salts, candles, essential oils, and soothing music.

Many cultures believe the moon possesses the ability to cleanse and reset, making it a significant time for rituals and wishes. One popular belief is that wishes made under a full moon have a higher chance of coming true. People create "moon water" by leaving a glass container filled with water under the moon's light overnight, believing that it becomes charged with the moon's energy and can be used for various purposes.

In the Philippines, it is believed that no marriage should take place except during the period of the full moon, as good fortune comes only during that period. There’s also the superstition that exposing your newborn to the waxing moon will give the baby strength. Meanwhile, the Irish believe viewing the new moon through glass should be avoided, and that even the position of the new moon is important; for luck the new moon should be seen over the right shoulder, never the left.

No matter whether you pay the gray heavenly body any attention or not these days, it continues to maintain its magic and allure. No romantic evening is complete without a full shining moon and twinkling stars. Farmers no longer rely solely on the phases or stages of the moon for planting, but modern science and weather forecasts. The goddesses have long fell out of favor and few superstitions/myths remain. But the moon is always glorious. Just look up tonight.

And with the airwaves and internet flooded with politics, you may find some relief from the negative energy by going out tonight under the beautiful full Hunter's Moon and soaking up some moon rays to rid yourself of the negative energy. The chances are slim you will turn into a werewolf as many believed in the past happened during a full moon. But it is the month of ghosts and goblins, who knows what may happen.

Here are a few more beliefs about the moon.

The first time you see a crescent moon for the month, take all your spare coins out of your pocket, and put them in the other pocket. This will ensure good luck for the next month.

Some people believe that the fifth day after a full moon is the perfect time to try to conceive a child.

In some Chinese religions, offerings are made to the ancestors on the night of a full moon.

In some Native American legends, the moon is held captive by a hostile tribe. A pair of antelope hope to rescue the moon and take it the village of a good tribe, but Coyote, the trickster, interferes. The antelope chase Coyote, who tosses the moon into a river each night, just out of reach of the antelope.

The night of the full moon is believed to be a good time for divination and scrying. 

It is unlucky to have a full Moon on Sunday.

It is unlucky to see the first sliver of a new Moon through a window; you'll break a dish. And it's certainly unlucky to sleep in the moonlight, or worse, be born in the moonlight! 

It is unlucky to point at the new Moon or view any Moon over your shoulder.

The Suffering Of Gardeners

In the winter, gardeners dream of spring. Spring begins the dramatic awakening of a gardener's vision. People who have the great luck to pass by a gardener's creative display of lovingly selected plants in a garden only see the resulting beauty of the garden. To the passing onlooker, the garden is stunning. What they have no idea about is there is a gardener who is or have taken note with much disappointment of all of the failures of their garden. 

I am a gardener. I can speak firsthand about the life of a gardener. Many people who do not garden may believe the gardener is a person with a magical GREEN THUMB because their plants are so glorious. They will tell a gardener this and sometimes a gardener will try to tamp down such a wonderful compliment. Why? Because that gardener knows for every healthy, beautifully blooming plant they have, there were probably ten that didn't live. The compliment made the memory of the plants that died flash through their mind. Many gardeners mourn the loss of plants that would have made their garden even more stunning and actually completed their vision which they anticipated all winter.

When people/visitors come to my home, they will eww and ahh at my flowers. I usually stand somewhat baffled blinking my eyes rapidly trying to join in on how pretty my flowers are. I have to hold back, which I have yet to successfully master, not telling them, "This is not even close to the way it should look. There was supposed to be more plants here. More plants there. The gaps in the garden are horrible and I have several plants not doing as well as they should right now."  A gardener is never FULLY able to take a compliment. Oops. I used the word NEVER. Remember. Never say ALWAYS or NEVER about something because it usually doesn't hold up.

The one thing that causes a gardener the most ANXIETY is the weather. It is the one thing a gardener cannot bend to their will. If the weather man wants to know who his demographic is, he should be assured it is gardeners. Gardeners make sure to know what the weather forecast is. Predicted heavy rain, wind, cold, snow, freeze, high temps, and drought, can send a gardener scrambling to protect their plants in the garden. Gardeners hit social media searching and asking for advice and tips how to get their beloved plants through the extremes of predicted weather. After they have done all of the precautionary measures to protect their plants, they sit and wait.

The waiting is hard. It is a feeling of HELPLESSNESS. Their mind wanders to what CAN be the outcome. Then they spend the rest of the waiting period trying to convince themselves everything will be okay. They begin to still themselves by telling themselves it's only plants. They are replaceable. But their gardener SPIRIT knows that the plant they picked out on a certain day as a plant they must have for their garden for specific reasons, selected the best spot for that plant to survive and thrive, possibly amended the soil to suit that plant, watered it in until it adjusted to the garden and began to produce new leaves and roots, kept an eye on it daily for signs of stress or insect invasion, and finally saw their efforts of their nurturing paying off, the plant was growing taller, wider, and finally producing flowers or fruit, if lost, would cause them grief. 

Gardeners recall failures in the garden, it seems, just as much as successes in the garden. My garden was among the many in the severe drought of the summer of 2023. My garden did not receive rain from early May through mid-November. I couldn't believe it just would not rain. I diligently watered my plants until the scorching temperatures of July and the ever-biting mosquitos made it impossible for me to water them. I was BEAT DOWN. My mind knew the fate of my plants enduring the high temperatures of 100 plus degrees daily and lack of rain. There was nothing to do but to retreat and save MYSELF from the extreme weather. I knew every day my plants were suffering and there would be losses. Remember how I said the waiting phase was brutal for a gardener. Not only did I have to wait out the drought, but I would also have to wait out the winter to see the tragic results of plant that did not survive when spring emerged.

I am feeling the pains of loss of flowers as I write this. No matter the situation, people have a tendency to always mourn WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN whether with a past relationship or a missed career opportunity. Gardeners also think about what could have been. 

Back to the ALWAYS and NEVER statement I should not have said. There are so many quotes about pain and suffering and most sum up to the quote, "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger." It applies to gardening so well.

A gardener dreams and plans their garden each year with visions of making it a place they can enjoy taking in its beauty. It may take years to bring their vision into reality due to random destructive acts of nature, but they never quit. Gardeners are tenacious and resilient. They become more able to rebound from what MOTHER NATURE throws at them. They become more entuned and partnered with nature instead of a victim of nature. They begin to CALM and enjoy what they have and not focus on what could have been. This is a SEASONED gardener though. I'm talking about a person who has gardened over 10 plus years. They are able to go WITH the flow of nature and ADMIRE how it shows up and its power. The ANIMOSITY between the two ENDS. 

I guess the seasoned gardener can because in the ten years of gardening they have gotten close or maybe have achieved what they wanted to achieve in their garden and now they are in the PLAY PHASE.

I call it the play phase because the gardener is now doing little tweaks and little subtle additions to their garden. The backbone of their garden, design, and showstoppers of the garden have been thriving for years now. Now they are adding plants as whimsy and for the simple joy of EXPERIMENTING to see what will happen. They KNOW which faithful plants will return each year no matter what the weather brings, and they know which plants won't when they add them to their garden. They were a temporary addition. Their perseverance and resolve have paid off and they now feel like a MASTER GARDENER, at least when it comes to THEIR garden.

The beginner gardener though, suffers. They question whether they have the coveted GREEN THUMB. They wonder if the people who pass by their garden will find it pretty. They face so many FAILS in the garden to the point of feeling some shame in their ability to garden. Don't lose hope. We all have been there.

Little do they know that a gardener's life is like LIFE in general. In life we face extremes also. We experience failures too. We have those helpless/hopeless moments of waiting for outcomes we picture in our mind as catastrophic. We steal ourselves when we have to face the results. In life as in the garden, you must not condemn yourself or curse the outside forces. You must remain focused on your vision, remain tenacious in trying to achieve it, and resilient when unforeseen situations out of your control occur. You partner with life and its rhythms, know your foundation remains, and enjoy the beauty of what you do have. There WILL be time when you think of what could have been, but you must love and see the beauty of what you DO have. People, in time, do notice and say how pretty and grand your hard work is. Within you, you will still see the empty places where things have died or didn't come to be. You have to HEAR and internalize the compliments given saying, "I have seen what you have done. It is beautiful" 

Gardeners go through a lot of emotions. When they face losses or failures in their garden, they feel that too and have the appropriate responses to loss and failure. They OVERCOME those feelings and continue on. They complete their vison and dream. They are not quitters. They have wonderful stories to tell and tricks of the trade they've LEARNED through the years. Gardeners do not just grow plants, they grow THEMSELVES.

If you have the chance, walk and tour a garden of a seasoned gardener. Most of them are welcoming and would love for you to tour their garden. Ask them questions about their garden and really listen to them. As they talk about their garden, they are sharing WISDOMS that can transfer into daily life. Memories to cherish and memories to let go. Look at the expression on their face as they talk about their plants. I bet you will see expressions of tender love for certain plants and pride for certain plants. In their garden, the energy is so positive until it should be bottled and shared.

One thing people who do not garden but enjoy flowers says to a gardener is, "I wish I had the TIME to garden but I'm too busy." My advice is refrain from saying that to a gardener. Because if other gardeners are like me, I feel sorry for that person. Gardening offers so much including slowing down in life and not doing so much until you do not have TIME. Gardening makes you aware and appreciative of time. It shows you what can happen in seasons of time. You can have unexpected losses in time out of your control, so you FOCUS on the good that you do have. Gardening allows you to dream and grow. The gardener gets to witness delightful SURPRISES like a flower randomly changing from its original color to another color or a plant popping out of nowhere that a bird must have contributed to their garden or a plant deciding to seed itself in the most unusual place and outperform their parent in a perfect place to live. Gardeners greet their gardens with the expectation of seeing something beautiful in their day and the garden delivers much more so than it disappoints. Gardening, the gardener knows, is something you should make time for, but they respectfully do not tell the person so. They do not tell them they are missing a LOVE AFFAIR on an unexplainable scale.

If you have ever had the pleasure to see a garden which you viewed as pretty, beautiful, or gorgeous, just know that gardener has seen some things and been through some things. But also know you are seeing the results of a person who doesn't take NO for an answer. They can adjust to what is thrown at them, recover from grief, not afraid to try again, take risks, have the ability to nurture the sickliest, and delight in small surprises. They have something, their garden, to add beauty to their day daily. They are a WHOLE person in my view. Now, not every gardener is a SWEET person outside of their garden. But a garden tames the savage beast just like music does. You will notice the monster of a person is different when, if they do, gives a garden tour and talk about their plants.

After an argument with one of my daughters she said to me, "Life is not all butterflies and flowers!" I laughed (not a good thing to do in an argument) and said, "My life is butterflies and flowers because I plant the hundreds of flowers and I sit and watch the many butterflies as they feed on the flowers. Your life may not be filled with butterflies and flowers, but mine is in every sense of the words." And it was not a flippant comeback. My garden is the place I went to just sit and unwind from the argument. It was where I released my negative energy by putting my bare feet on the coolness of the green grass. It was where my mind was able to see beauty and remember the beauty of my daughter who I also lovingly cared for and was a lasting foundation. Our argument was just like a bad weather system. Stormy weather that comes and it goes, and you continue on knowing you can recover and produce more beautiful things. She is lucky my life IS all butterflies and flowers.

To the gardeners who have been gardening 25 plus years, I know your gardener's spirit. I have been gardening for 32 years and have been complimented by many and even wrote a book about a year-long gardening journal I kept, Diary of a Wannabe Gardener, 20 years ago. Every agony of gardening was expressed in it including my HATE relationship with WEEDS. My suffering is evident in the book. But I grew and became a different. My garden grew me. 

To all of my fellow gardeners, you are amazing, and your gardens are beautiful. Thank you for adding some beauty to this world through all of your private suffering.

You can purchase my book, Diary of a Wannabe Gardener, on amazon.com Please comment, share and follow this page. Thank you.

 

Diary Of A Wannabe Gardener

Have you ever thought about the various ways that people judge one another and how a person may see others in their own mind? Could there be someone somewhere trying to decide whether you are a beautiful gracious rose or a defensive prickly pear? That is exactly how the main character in my book, Diary of a Wannabe Gardener, Samantha Black, judges people.

Samantha, a stay at home mom, is at war with the weeds in her flower garden. She has suffered yearly defeats, but knows that this is the year of her victory. Her thumb may not be green, but she is green with envy as she views breathtaking landscapes of various Mississippi gardens. She pinches money from the household funds behind her husband's back, to achieve her goal of a perfect garden. Sam's family become reluctant participants in her yearly war against the weeds. She will not allow herself to entertain the idea that she is actually a gardener until she has created the "perfect" flower garden. Even when the family omen of the death birds comes to her house, Sam keeps her focus on her garden; her soul. Sam chronicles the garden murders, the revolts and injustices of nature, and her determination to overcome old wives tales in her yearlong diary. Family and community bonds are formed and strengthened in the oddest way as Sam's "perfect" flower garden comes to life.

Dorothy Guyton, author.

PLEASE buy my book, Diary of a Wannabe Gardener, on amazon.com while you await the first signs of spring. Also, like, share, comment, and follow me on all my social media sites.

The Perfect Garden

HAPPY CLEMATIS THURSDAY 

 

Is there such a thing as the perfect garden? If you ask me the answer is NO!

Each winter I move plants, pull out plants, and plan to buy plants all in an effort create the perfect garden for the next year. I never seem to be satisfied with the garden that I have. This year I added 6 clematis plants in hopes of having the flowers climb wherever they may. Clematis is a workhorse and announces spring is here.

Any gardener that you speak with will tell you that the garden they have has taken years of trials and errors and is always a work in progress. In my book "Diary of A Wannabe Gardener" Samantha learns there is no such thing as the perfect garden. But all gardens are beautiful and individual.

Below is what some famous people have had to say about gardening and gardeners:

DOROTHY FRANCES GURNEY:
The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God's heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth. "Garden Thoughts"

ELIZABETH MURRAY:
Gardening is the art that uses flowers and plants as paint, and the soil and sky as canvas.

LEWIS GANNIT:
Gardening is a kind of disease. It infects you, you cannot escape it. When you go visiting, your eyes rove about the garden; you interrupt the serious cocktail drinking because of an irresistible impulse to get up and pull a weed.

THOMAS MOORE:
The many great gardens of the world, of literature and poetry, of painting and music, of religion and architecture, all make the point as clear as possible: The soul cannot thrive in the absence of a garden. If you don't want paradise, you are not human; and if you are not human, you don't have a soul.
God almighty first planted a garden: and, indeed, it is the purest of human pleasure.

FRANCIS BACON
The best place to seek God is in a garden. You can dig for him there.
George Bernard Shaw

So, it's gardening time 2024 and soon every gardener will be having gardening fever. Are you working on your perfect garden? What is your idea of a perfect garden? Is it a rose garden like mine or a perennial garden which I also strive to have? Are you the annual pop of pow type of gardener? Let's talk. WHAT IS YOUR FAMOUS QUOTE ABOUT GARDENING OR GARDENERS? Please share.

Don't forget to buy my book Diary of a Wanna Be Gardener to enjoy the life of an everyday gardener trying to create the perfect garden; available on amazon.com. Please like, share, follow, and comment. Invite your gardening friends to enjoy my blog posts about my gardening journey and gardening life. If you like my gardening topics, please let me know and I will write more about gardening on my blog. Remember, select the label garden, gardening, or gardener on the right side of the blog page.

What's Love Got To Do With It?

LIFE IS NOT THAT SERIOUS. TAKE TIME TO SMILE AND HAVE A LAUGH WHEN POSSIBLE

    Today is Valentines Day and there are people enjoying the day celebrating being in love with their special someone. And there are those who have not found their special someone and are not feeling so cheery today. It's okay. I'm here to hopefully uplift you with my writing about the crazy world of nature and how humans are only a BIT different when it comes to "Getting busy" "Knocking boots" "Hooking up" "Doing the Wild Thang" and what ever the young people slang is for having SEX (leave a comment which I know you will tell me how my slang is outdated).

    This post was originally written in the height of spring 2023. I love it so much I wanted to share it with you again on this day when everyone's attention is on having a significant OTHER or not having one. Let me be your significant OTHER today and let me shower YOU today with a smile. My BEST gift I can give to you.

    There are few people who cringe when the topic of sex is brought up. Parents belong to the group of cringers when it comes to thinking about their sweet innocent children one day having sex. On the other hand, children cringe thinking of the possibility their geriatric parents EVER had sex.

    Be that as it may, live long enough and you too will eventually have sex. Live long enough and you will regret your choice of at least one sex partner. 

    I know many decided to click on this blog, this particular post, hoping for some steamy or even perverted writing regarding SEX. I aim to please.

    The problem you may find with this writing is that it is not about people having sex; well, not diectly. I will not be offering my expertise in this area nor any new-found techniques or positions. Believe me, no matter how good or unique you may believe yourself to be in this area, there is nothing new under the sun and many masters exist.

    With my gardening backgroud, passion, and enjoyment, I find this time of year to be a-buzz with sexual activity in the insect world. EVERYTHING is trying to recreate itself and PLEASURE does not seem to factor into it as it does with us humans. But, as always, there is always a hint of the animal world or nature found within ourselves.

    

    The male ladybug evidently does not need much or expects any participation from the lady he chooses to spend some time with. Human men have a cheif complaint of sex being 'horrible' with a woman/partner who just lays there. The male ladybug is able to go for HOURS. Many human woman may nor prefer hours, but have a complaint of the sexual union ending far quicker than she would hope. But as with the male ladybug, there is a certain amount of "I'm in this just for me" that crosses over into the human sexual experience. But, come on dude; she's DEAD.

    Men also complain women use sex as a bargaining chip. Want to have sex? Take out the garbage, or buy me a gift, take me to a movie or dinner, etc., etc., etc. To just get in on the action, the male human has to do a great deal (according to them). So women, give the man what he wants. SEX and instant DEATH just like the female praying mantis does.

    Everybody knows that men think about sex every seven seconds. What people haven’t perhaps considered is that means more than 8000 times a day or 56 000 times a week. Really? Did everybody know that?  When The Kinsley Institute researchers asked men and women how often they think about sex, 54 percent of men said they think about sex several times a day, 43 percent responded a few times per week or just a few times per month, and 4 percent said less than once a month. Meanwhile, 19 percent of women said they thought about sex every day or several times a day, 67 percent responded a few times per week or a few times a month or, and 14 percent said less than once a month. So the every seven seconds is myth and legend.

     But, would they think of it at all if their balls exploded and they died after that ONE glorious orgasm? Women wouldn't be at risk of dying after an orgasm since women said they reach orgasm 31-40% of the time in response to the question about intercourse in general. By contrast, women said they reached orgasm even more often with assisted intercourse (51-60% of the time), but less often with unassisted intercourse (21-30% of the time). Women are just destined to outlive men lol. No EXPLOSIONS going on her way.

    

    We women are not as extreme as the dragonfly in our efforts to get out of having sex, but does the phrase: "Not tonight dear. I have a headache" ring a bell? Men, never the wiser, have not realized their sexual partner somehow freakishly has at least three 'periods' a month rendering them temporarily out of commission in the sex department. Thank goodness, along with getting directions, men don't do the math on menstrual cycles per month. Moving right along.

    Okay ladies. By a show of hands how many of you have been awakened from a sound sleep by an object, which you recognized imeediately as a penis, pokinng you in the back? WHAT IS UP WITH THAT? Men, you use that sexual organ like a heat seeking missile!! A poke here. A poke there. I mean, REALLY! Do you ever think it can be a traumatizing experience in the same way as the bedbug? No. In your charm, you view it as an assault with a FRIENDLY WEAPON. And God love you, we women giggle and join in.

    All of the above sex acts seem so UNNATURAL, but they are completely NATURAL in the insect world and the human world. All of the sexual interactions must occur in order for survival to continue. The persistent and tenacious gets to procreate and pass along DNA. Taking chances to mate with the dead and sometimes half dead, is a chance worth taking. Going after the desired ONE, at the risk of loss of life and limb, is worth it. Faking death and illness to get out of MATING insures the BEST DNA is passed along. Women do have to be selective in choosing the father of her offspring; a lesson needed to be learned and understood in this generation of sexually active, child bearing age people.

     Right now the air, literally, the air is filled with sexual activity in every direction the eye can rest. When we think about having the 'sex talk' with our children it is not referred to the 'birds and the bees' talk for no reason. If we were to actually explain what the birds and bees are truly doing it would frighten our children off of the idea of ever having sex. Even though it's hard for parents to hold the thought of their blossoming children becoming sexually active, we don't want them to NOT EVER have a happy healthy sex life. But, man, it's harsh out there for a bug. 

Please remember to buy my book When Will Eve Be Forgiven? available on amazon.co. Please share, like, comment and follow my blog. Thank you.

 

Are You Woke Yet?

 

    Being 'WOKE' has become a red meat word in politics. It connotates having ideas, opinions, views, perspective, ideology, that goes against historically accepted American understandings of history and the American way of life. To be 'Woke' may cause you to be ridiculed.

    By definintion, WOKE is the past tense of WAKE. The definition of wake is to emerge or cause to emerge from a state of sleep; stop sleeping. Simple definition right? It is also a noun: a watch or vigil held beside the body of someone who has died, sometimes accompanied by ritual observances including eating and drinking. So, people who are now WOKE or accused of being woke, are emerging from a state of sleep or holding vigil over something that has died. Why is this a bad thing?

    While sitting on my porch this rainy day, my thoughts went to the future. The future of my garden. Several plants have emerged from the ground this April, but not all of them have shown their faces and I'm wondering; are they dead or if they just haven't WOKE up yet? Am I rushing the Spring time window in which the Earth awakens? I thought how long does the 'awakening' process take?

    Of course, if you know me, I related the awakening Earth to humans. Do we and should we have an awakening? Is it a natural course of life to be, in some form or fashion, reborn, renewed, awakened into a new season of what is old and expected and yet filled with the new. 

    Many plants in the garden return each year bigger and better. These same reliable plants, at times, need to be divided because they have grown too big for the space. The divisions can be replanted in another spot in the garden to grow big and strong, or shared with friends, or thrown away because it's time in the garden is over and another space for it can't be found. Some plants, like my favored rose, needs pruning before the Spring season. Pruning keeps the rose from having weak stems, unwanted stems going in the wrong direction, and encourages more and larger blooms. The thing the gardener knows is, the plants in the garden are always changing.

    Some people also want to emerge 'differently' come Spring. Dieting and exercising is at a fever pitch trying to get the body beautiful for the following season. People 'decide' to get into shape, workout, get a new hairstyle, buy a new wardrobe, find romance, or something to make life better. They realized (woke to the opinion, fact), the body or look they had/have is not expressing who they REALLY are or hope to be. Maybe the mind seeks this also; rebirth, renewing. Seeing something OLD in a NEW way even though it is still the same thing. If I dieted (not likely), exercised (are you kidding?), changed my hairstyle (yeah, right lol), I would still be Dorothy. I would still be Dorothy, with a healthier, body you now see in a new light which may lead to you wanting to get to know me better (Heeyyyy. I'm not mad at you about it).

    In the garden world being WOKE is not a BAD thing. Why is being WOKE a bad thing in the human arena? A feeling of destruction is attatched to the Woke Culture.

    Woke Culture is defined as: an adjective derived from African American Venacular English (AAVE) meaning "alert to racial prejudice and discrimination." Beginning in the 2010s, it came to encompass a broader awareness of social inequalities such as sexism, and has also been used as shorthand for American Left ideas involving identity politics and social justice, such as the notion of white priveledge and slavery reparations for African Americans. Boo! Sounds scary huh? Racism. discrimination, sexism are the WEEDS of the garden. Funny though, many gardeners like the blooms of many weeds. To them, no plant is a weed. AND THERE YOU HAVE IT!

    But, the truth is, history has already recorded the American experience. It is available for all to research and know. But now, HISTORY is emerging bigger and bolder being seen in a new light. Some of history is weak and sprawling, occupying valuable space that can be used by something healthier. Some of history has grown bigger needing to leave it's confines and to be replanted to grow once more bigger and better, or shared with others to enjoy, and yes, even thrown away because it's time is over, there is no space for it's use. All of this is a PATTERN of existence. We, just as plants, must WAKE up and be WOKE.

    What is painful now in the process of waking up, is a beautiful and natural process experienced in nature. As humans, we hold ourselves above every created thing. Our mind refuse to grasps the concepts that we too are part of a universal pattern. We accept life and death, but AWAKENING, is threatening to us as HISTORY demonstrates from prior awakenings experienced. 

    So to be WOKE is an insult, but what is it to NOT be AWAKE? As I said earlier, maybe I'm rushing Spring. It's only April and the saying goes, "April showers bring May flowers." Maybe I don't even know how long or even when the WOKE process in the garden actually begins or ends. But what I do know is, I don't begin it or end it. It has it's own rhythm defined as a strong, regular, repeated pattern of movement or sound. Awakenings REPEAT in nature and I strongly believe in humans. 

    Another thing about gardens is that the gardener is on the edge of their seat everyday waiting for the plants to wake up and show their true color and form while being woke. They never rail against what  the woke garden may bring. they are ready and waiting for it. They enjoy the newness that comes along WITH the old. Sure, there is an amount of adaptation that occurs in tthe garden, but even that is part of the gardeners journey where learning from experiences abound.

    Woke Culture may be something people recoil from for their own various reasons, but history documents the set in stone human experience is and always will be, times when people WOKE up,