Saving the World with Dirty Nails

When we moved to our new rented home in Visayas, I was thrilled that I have small plot of land at the back of our house where I can plant some vegetables. However, months of neglect made it into a mean weed jungle. That meant that I have to clear it out before I achieve that quaint vegetable garden I have in my head. This challenge revved me up so I set my mind on a week-long weed-pulling expedition. Being a rookie gardener, I had no idea how to go about this. This was the first time I ever had my own plot to plant in. So I thought, okay, I will grab the weeds and yank it out.

I gingerly held a clump of leaves between my thumb and pointing finger, pulled hard, and ended up with torn leaves in my fingers and a snickering (and still very much alive) stump of weed from where it came from. Hmm... I tried holding nearer the roots though I was still making sure my fingers would not touch the soil.

Yank.

A shorter stump of weeds.

After a few minutes of negotiating this task unsuccessfully, it dawned on me that there is no way I could do this while keeping my hands free from dirt and mud. Surrendering to the earth, I took an old screw driver and decided to get my hands in it. I stabbed at the hard soil that was vehemently clutching at the weeds' roots. Then I let my hand dive deep into the earth so I can grab hold of the base of the weed. The weed still put up a tug-of-war fight but eventually, it gave. I lifted a big bunch of weeds off the soil, its scraggly roots hanging in a big mess. It was like holding up Medusa's head. Inspired by this victory, I attacked the immediate neighbors.

I noticed that once you start working with the earth long enough, you start to forget that it is dirt - that it is mud in your palms and soil under your nails. You start being friends with it, being one with it. That you start to not mind grabbing moist soil the way you do not mind the breeze or do not mind a bit of water that splashed on your feet.

Most of all, I learned that you can't improve the earth if you want to stay sanitized and squeaky clean. If you want to serve the earth, you have to accept the grime, sweat and mud. You will have to get out there, start talking to people, you will cry and you will see tears. You will get angry, you will witness things that will crush your heart. You will have to spend time with your child or your parent and prepare to get wounded. You will know people who will deliberately ignore you, deliberately spite you. You will see the full spectrum of apathy. You will have to walk with the broken and have their brokenness rub on you.

To pull the bad weeds out, you need to get your hands dirty. Then that is the only time something good can grow.

Posted via Blogaway