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| Time cover, September 8, 1947 |
C.S. Lewis wrote “our best havings are wantings.” I believe this. It is why the time before Christmas is filled with more magic than the days immediately after. It is why thirsting for a glass of wine is a more satisfying feeling than the headache that comes from having consumed the entire bottle.
Although the things that Lewis wrote about wanting had to do with his yearing to be in heaven (or paradise), I do not think his desire is all that different from my desire to want things for the garden. After all, there is something spiritual about creating, tending, and perfecting a garden. There is something holy about the posture of being on your knees whether your eyes are closed in prayer or open and fixed on a single purpose.
There is something about the quality of wanting that keeps us going. Wanting means that there is something about tomorrow worth waiting for. Wanting keeps us warm through the winter months when we want for color or the sound of water over rock or when we want for a still moment in the sun. Wanting helps us to wake up and get dressed when spring mornings are still chilly and wet. Wanting urges us to plan ahead and sow seeds, save money, prepare the earth and prepare our lives for change. Wanting keeps things fresh. It renews us.
I want privacy in my garden. I want fall color. I want sentiment attached to objects. I want a place that feels clean and green and that smells like dirt. I want the sound of wind chimes. I want friends to sit on the patio and say "this is really nice". I want my daughter to soak up some of my love for these things. I want shade when it is hot and sun when I am cold. I want the color blue in the morning and the purest white in the gloaming hours.
And I'll tell you something: all these wantings means that I am having a great time.
There is something about the quality of wanting that keeps us going. Wanting means that there is something about tomorrow worth waiting for. Wanting keeps us warm through the winter months when we want for color or the sound of water over rock or when we want for a still moment in the sun. Wanting helps us to wake up and get dressed when spring mornings are still chilly and wet. Wanting urges us to plan ahead and sow seeds, save money, prepare the earth and prepare our lives for change. Wanting keeps things fresh. It renews us.
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| Blue morning glory and iris |
I want privacy in my garden. I want fall color. I want sentiment attached to objects. I want a place that feels clean and green and that smells like dirt. I want the sound of wind chimes. I want friends to sit on the patio and say "this is really nice". I want my daughter to soak up some of my love for these things. I want shade when it is hot and sun when I am cold. I want the color blue in the morning and the purest white in the gloaming hours.
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| White star jasmine and iceberg climbing rose |
And I'll tell you something: all these wantings means that I am having a great time.
I'm having a great time too! My daughter is away at college and recently sent me a picture of her plot at her local community garden. It's a day I'll never forget...my love of earth did get passed on! Yay!! There is blue and white in my spring garden right now...for that I'm grateful ;)
ReplyDeleteCat, I can only imagine the pride you must have felt when you received that picture from your daughter. I can't help but feel that passing on a love of the earth helps our children in more ways than we can begin to comprehend.
DeleteWhat a wonderful sentiment! Now I'm going to relish all those feelings of wanting that I have when I'm in the garden!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Holley. I think wanting things can feel hard at times but I also think it really can help us when we can become grateful for the things we want. Good luck!
DeleteWanting is a double edge sword, but wanting as you outlined is such a nice way to want. I guess gardening brings out the best of all.
ReplyDeleteDonna, I suppose that is true. When wanting crosses the line and becomes greed or envy or when it causes us to be unhappy with what we already have, then I do think it can cut us deeply as you suggest.
DeleteChad, This so evokes the spirit of spring -- that magical time when we want plants to emerge so badly that we check on their progress two or more times a day. I loved this post. -Jean
ReplyDeleteJean, I'm so thankful that you liked the post. Thank you for reading and supporting my blog (especially in light of the comment from Stacy below).
DeleteChad, what a lovely post. Sometimes visions and desires for the future really do seem as tasty as the real thing when it arrives, especially at this time of year when hope runs high. I love what you say about wanting meaning that there is something about tomorrow worth waiting for.
ReplyDelete(Btw, I found your blog when it was featured on Jean's "Blogs of Note." Operating on geological time means that I'm just now getting around to commenting, but I've enjoyed your writing for months.)
Stacy, thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. I'm thankful to Jean for sharing my blog with others and thankful that people like you have taken time out of their days to read my posts.
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