Refreshing Your Self at a Botanic Gardens is a no-brainer: Botanic gardens are cultivated to bring calm, beauty, even awe as we experience the presence of plants from around the world, in all their myriad ways of adapting to all sorts of climates and conditions.
Larissa’s plan and poems for the day are attached; but beyond plans, the Refresh Your Self on 22 February brought something unexpected in the way we might nourish our foundational practices – the weather was wild!! In fact, apart from our group, the gardens were closed as the storm passed through. Some might worry that weather is the natural enemy of nature based mindfulness, but the storm brought an important metaphor into the practice, and an experience of being able to continue with calm, in the midst of challenge. Check out the practices and poems from the day here.
As we enter autumn and the turning of the seasons, in Tasmania we will likely experience many varied weather patterns, possibly in one day! Whatever the conditions, the practices of breathing, walking, sensing our bodies and being open to our world mindfully are still available to us, and a steady home base in a changing world.
And whether its the Botanic Gardens, your garden, a pot plant or a weed in the footpath, the metaphor of life finding ways to adapt and grow is never far away!