The soil.
Everyday, as we step out of our dens, it is there.
Where our homes rest upon, where our deceased loved ones lay, where our food grows, where the trees grow, where we spend our whole life, the soil is there.
The soil accepts and receives whatever is given to it. Whether good or bad, it does not discriminate. It is honest. Provide it with organic matter and fertilizers, take good care of it so that it does not erode, allow biological diversity on it, then the soil will return the efforts you have given to it. Provide it with harmful substances, leave it bare with no vegetation, overuse it, then it will turn on you, such as the historic dust bowl. It is one of the most honest beings I can imagine.
Let us consider our hearts and minds as the soil. It is delicate in such a way that whatever we feed into it, it will give it back. Feed it with hatred, greed, intemperance, and other negative nutriments, and it will provide you back with the same energy. Feed it with love, peace, joy, and understanding, then it shall provide you back with more of the same energy. Be mindful of your soil-mind. Be alert as to what nutriments is being added into it. The soil-mind needs balance- plentiful positive or plentiful negative will result to misdirected passion and to misguided decisions. The soil carries millions of seeds, good and bad, and it is in our control what seeds will we allow to germinate. Then again, even if we allow bad seeds to germinate, as long as we are alert enough and carry out our practice, we can return the balance.
Know when to rest your soil-mind. Soils need a fallow (rest) period to replenish its vigor, so is the mind. Let it rest, let it rest. Do not cultivate it, do not plow it, let it stay and settle. The seasons will tell you when to start again.
Trust that the soil is part of a diverse, all-encompassing Mother Earth.
Your mind and hearts are also part of One massive Whole and these are not yours alone. These belong to no one yet these are everyone's. Take full care of your soil-mind/heart for it is always part of your ancestors and descendants, just as how we should give utter importance to the lands from our ancestors.
"This year again the motherly terra gave us the food for the life. If it were not for the soil, or if the soil was poor, or if we did not have the skill to make use of the soil, could we exist now? Our life is worth living because the soil is there. The soil covers everything of our life. When we thank the soil with our whole heart and with our enthusiasm, it will accept our heart beyond any human knowledge. The soil lived in the past, is succeeded in the present, and bears all the possibility in the future."
This is written by Shoko Sugano. I encountered this quote when I visited a Soil Museum in Furano. I couldn't agree more with what she said.
Earth and all the Cosmos is the largest Bible we can read and these can teach us the Truth of Creation. Through the Creations we can be in touch more with the Creator. Why not start with the soil?
"Humble as the Soil, my Spirit takes root on the vastness of Mother Earth's understanding"
