"Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'"~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
Today was Monday (again, I am on fire with the calendar skills). But, unlike most Mondays, today was very calm and it was not as hard for me to get going as it usually is on Monday.
One of the reasons is that today is Dr. King's Birthday/Holiday (his actual birthday was yesterday) and I always take time to reflect on his life and legacy and my own progress in helping others. Up until about a year ago, I was volunteering and helping so much, that I was neglecting my own life and the things I needed to do for myself.
So, this past year, I made a conscious decision to cut back, and have been focusing less on my volunteer activities and more on my work and my own life. I am still an active, certified UC Master Gardener and I volunteer and lead garden workshops in the community. But, I am not currently on any boards or commissions and I honestly don't miss it.
And, once my book is done I might add something else back in, but it will be more focused on these kind of hands on things. Not only do I find them more meaningful, but I enjoy them more. I have found nothing better than having somebody thank me for giving them back the gift of gardening because they thought they couldn't do it anymore.
Today, I didn't do any volunteer work but I did have a lovely afternoon with a long-time friend looking at her garden(s), yep she has two spots to garden, one of them has 1,400 square feet and is an urban farmers' dream.
She wanted me to come over and give her some ideas of what edibles she should plant, etc. So, hopefully I gave her some useful info. and inspired her to keep growing. We had a great conversation not only catching up, but about the responsibility that we all have to be stewards of the earth, and to leave a legacy for the future.
While it wasn't the usual way I give back to the community, it was a great way to celebrate Dr. King's legacy, sharing the love of gardening and helping others with an old friend that has always inspired me and continues to do so.
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