Plants need watering, and the soul needs nourishment too

How long has it been since you last felt that smooth flow of inspiration welling up in your mind? How long has it been since thinking about one important matter required you to floor the accelerator just to squeeze out a few clues?

Every day when you open your eyes, what follows is inevitably more worry than hope, more anxiety than anticipation. Perhaps you and I, as ordinary folk, have too many daily necessities to fret over; perhaps you and I, as everyday people, have too many reluctant musts and cannots. To make a living, we are like growing plants, drawing water from the soil with all our might, straining toward the light, producing the nutrients we need to survive. We turn things over in our minds, solving one problem after another, handling one hot potato after another.

Yet energy always runs out in the end.

When the soil dries up, we remember to water and irrigate; when body and mind run dry, we often neglect to moisten and care for them. A cup of tea, a book, a piece of music, a trip, a hands-on act of environmental awareness, an action in support of pesticide-free farming, a session of sweating exertion, or even a single simple, even, fine deep breath - any of these can be a good tool for watering the soul.

Plants, when they have water, are irrigated; a soul lacking moisture, do not forget to tend gently. However urgent the need, it takes a clear mind and a healthy body to find a way, and the warmth and solidity cultivated within are the greatest force for achieving everything.