“I have everything I need,” I thought to myself. Land. Water. Sun. Seeds. A compost bin. Energy. Hands.
I let the idea sink in, be digested, and then headed to the garden of the apartment building I live in Jerusalem, confident I could do it. I was determined to start. I wanted it badly.
I had dreamed of having a food garden for quite some time now, had made several attempts in the past, which were short-lived.
But somehow now with the coronavirus providing me all the time in the world, the time was ripe; Now was the time to weed the garden and create a small plot where I could experiment with my permaculture gardening dream.
Being on a work leave since mid March, due to the coronavirus, I all of a sudden have the time to carry out my wishes and dreams; Read the paper daily, write articles and publish them on my blog, create a small permaculture garden in both the apartment building’s communal garden as well as in the pot located by our dining room’s windowsill which is easy to reach.
At this time of extended leave from my office work, I see the extra time at my disposal as a valuable resource.
Now I realize, that I have everything I need to get my dreams and visions off the ground.
These were pushed aside before, further down on my “would love to do list,” on the grounds that I did not have the time. But the lack of time thesis is no longer valid, these days! Nowadays, I have all the time in the world. I can carry out all of my pushed aside dreams, shoved in the drawer of my desk, so far behind they were beyond my reach.
I open the drawer and extend my hand to get hold of my dreams. I touch them and air the dreams into the sun, to get their energy back, to get my desire rekindled, my repressed wants brought to life, to the world, to the ground.
As the days go by, I slowly but steadily undo the repression. Uncover the urges, reveal the desires, reignite the wants.
During this strange new season of ample time, I access all that I wanted to do and did not have the time to. Dreams, visions and desires come to light and want to be heard and honored. They call, knock and yearn for my attention. “Look at me,” “see me,” “honor me,” “manifest me” they plead.
These days, I and probably many of you too, have everything we need to manifest these unique urges, and dreams of ours, for permaculture gardens, for communal gardens, for healthy foods, for home-schooling, for community building and the list runs long as we the people. Each one and her dream, each one and his dream.
As I start to plant my seedlings in the apartment building’s garden, my neighbors come by and ask to join in. Sure I say, why don’t we each try to plant one square meter of land on the garden. We will support and learn from each other in the process and we can share communal meals in the garden from time to time from our own produce.
Now that the weather warms up in Jerusalem, the time is ripe for each and all to plant their dreams.
From Jerusalem with love,
Yvette Nahmia-Messinas