Been a Long Day Walking by David Masters
What if you could live anywhere you like? Wouldn’t you choose somewhere with a job you love and great schools?
Or maybe you’d want fabulous places to hike and explore nature – mountains, parks, and beaches. Or the best place to grow the flowers and vegetables you dream of.
Making the Choice to Stay Put
The reality is that many of us do have a huge amount of choice about where we live. And you know what they say, “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.”
But what if by staying put and making your own grass greener you could help to save the planet and the very things you really care about? What if growing your own sense of place in your garden is the the key to solving the environmental crisis?
“When the American poet Gary Snyder was once asked to discuss at length how individuals could best help resolve the environmental crisis, he responded with two words: ‘Stay put.’ Only by rediscovering a sense of place, he suggested, a commitment to a particular piece of ground, will we be able to redefine our relationship to the planet.”
Shadows in the Sun, Wade Davis, Island Press, 1998
“Make Your Own Grass Greener”
Is the epidemic of garden spraying and land despoiling really about lacking a sense of belonging and a sense of place? Could it be that simple? When you stop and notice a bug crawling by and learn the name of a native plant which feeds a butterfly do you feel a sense of connection?
Are you willing to stay put and “make your own grass greener”, or do you have fresh pastures in your sights, somewhere which just seems better, less spoiled, with more opportunities, maybe even with a community more tuned in to gardening, nature, or the environment? Are there things you love about your own little place which you share with your kids, friends, and family?
What are you doing to grow your connection to where you live? Do you feel a sense of place? Is your little bit of ground something you care deeply about? Would you like to care more?
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Life being what it is, I have moved…a lot. I think I figured out once that the longest I’ve ever lived in one place was four years for college. (Not by choice, particularly, but Navy brat, ex-husband in a volatile job market…events conspired.)
Lately I’ve been getting the urge to just stay SOMEWHERE–and it almost doesn’t matter where, I have lived enough places that I can generally find something to love anywhere–but to find a place and put down some serious roots. But life is so volatile that I can’t really make that happen by sheer force of will, so…y’know. We’ll see how life goes.
Gardening for me is an act of optimism in the face of possibly having to uproot again.
UrsulaV´s last blog ..THAT’ll wake you up in the morning…
UrsulaV, I’m not putting you on my list of bloggers who are in search of greener pastures for three reasons:
1. “Not by choice”, is what you say about your moves.
2. “I’ve been getting the urge to just stay SOMEWHERE…”
3. “Gardening for me is an act of optimism in the face of possibly having to uproot again.”
It seems to me that you are living the kind of life and taking care of your patch of the planet as if you were going to be in the one place. And that is what I’m talking about here.
May you get to keep your roots down my friend