I sorta knew what I wanted to purchase but I took my time looking around, taking a few photos and admiring the large variety of flowers this garden center had to offer. After purchasing my flowers, I spent the entire afternoon gardening. It was such a wonderful experience, as it always is. Even though it was super humid and pretty hot out, I loved every delicious minute because I was doing something that fed my soul. Gardening for many of us is wonderful therapy. And as an added plus, I had music playing in the back round, thanks to my portable Bose SoundDock. I felt super alive and energized digging and planting my new flowers and then dreaming about what they might look like in the next several weeks.
Spending so many hours outside in nature yesterday satisfied my soul in a way I had missed last summer. Last year, I had some health issues and spent the summer not feeling too well which later led to surgery so I spent an additional 6 weeks recovering from that. All that to say, that I missed precious and sacred time tending to my flowers and spending countless of hours outside breathing in fresh air, standing in the sunshine and experiencing serenity in nature.
Yesterday marked the beginning of what will soon be a lovely and routine time outdoors as I care for the flowers I carefully planted. I believe the reason I love being outdoors and spending time in nature and caring for flowers is because it satisfies my soul. I believe our Maker created us with a desire for soul satisfaction. And mostly for me, and I hope for you too, that’s something I experience through God and with God and in my relationships, and in the connections I make and without question, in beauty and in nature for sure. I believe God meets us in nature. There's so much beauty in nature, breath-taking beauty. When I'm nurturing something from God's earth, it does something to me on the inside. It makes me feel really good. I feel calm. I feel happy and in that moment, the world feels right. It nurtures my soul which, while invisible to the outer world, is a very real part of me. It's who I am. It's my life-force, my energy, my essence. It's whats fuels everything I do. And because of that, taking care of my inner-life, nurturing my soul, makes sense. Nurturing my inner-life is just as important as my outer-life. Soul satisfaction is something we can’t live without. We feel dead without it. If we don’t find healthy and constructive ways to satisfy our souls, we'll look for it in not so healthy ways.
Tuesday, June 21st marks the first day of summer. That’s two days from today and I’m thrilled that its finally going to be here because summer for me marks copious amounts of time outdoors. Within the next two weeks, I have plans to get to my first Cubs game of the season and two days after that, I’ll be meeting friends for a summer picnic and concert at Ravinia, another little slice of heaven on planet earth.
So here’s to summer! … and to satisfying our souls in healthy ways that make us feel rich, happy and alive.
Until next time …
~Ruthie
Plant something today that will feed someone many months or many years from now. Plant something today, because you’ve feasted on someone else’s carefully planted seeds, seeds that bloomed into nourishment and kept you alive and wide-eyed. ~Shauna Neiquist
Plant something today that will feed someone many months or many years from now. Plant something today, because you’ve feasted on someone else’s carefully planted seeds, seeds that bloomed into nourishment and kept you alive and wide-eyed. ~Shauna Neiquist
Asiatic Lillies
Zinnia's
Pink Hydrangea's
My Zinnia's and Begonia's
My Red Impatiens
Red Impatiens
My new solar lights
And in the end, a happy hour and a happy heart. ♥
