Last Monday, I arrived at Vilafranca del Panedés, a location close to the south of Barcelona. I’m working as a volunteer in a “masia“; a house where people come to have retreats of all kinds.
All I knew about this place was of a friend of mine who visited the masia some time ago. He fell in love with it, so I just followed my intuition to give it a try myself.
My temporal home in nature
The proposal is simple and quite engaging. I work five hours a day, six days a week. Then I can relax and enjoy the beautiful house, its gardens, and its unique magic surroundings. Above the house, there is a Shala (a Sanscrit word that stands for “a place for practice”). There, I have the chance to go and meditate in the morning and, sometimes, to have some yoga practice too.
I’ve been trying to figure out how to fit in the dynamics of the place. But it came naturally, as it usually does. I asked if someone could teach me about permaculture (the principles for regenerative and local agriculture). At this moment, no one has that kind of knowledge to share. However, it opened the door for my new favourite activity, gardening.
So far, I’ve been working on the front gardens. I like to make them look tidier and more welcoming. I also had the chance to use the fuel-based lawn moner, which I love. My next big project: making an orchard!
In a few days of practising this activity, some deep and dormant knowledge has begun to surface. Plants whisper me things while weeding out the gardens. They have become my spirit guides, bringing lessons for life every day. I would like to share one of the experiences I had.
Removing weeds from the garden
One morning, I was removing the weeds from one of the inner gardens. My mind was so occupied with the activity that I couldn’t notice how, all of a sudden, some kind of thought-form started to grow in my field of consciousness. The message was not given by words, but as a complete package (just like an e-book downloaded to my brain). Next, my mind reproduced the idea with words so I could relate to it (as a human), memorize and share.
The idea is quite simple, though. I related the impression of removing weeds with life itself. By taking each weed out of the ground, some slight feeling of killing something alive was invading me. Even if it was an unwanted herb, it holds life inside and it is part of a plan beyond our understanding. Interestingly, I usually have the same feeling when giving up some friendships, hobbies and pleasures that no longer serve me. And then I got it. While in a plane of existence some things came to an end, there was a higher plane where new things had now room to grow and flourish.
The energy that makes us desire things is an alive force itself. It has its unique plan, a unique way to lead us into our purpose. Living things are created upon death and destruction, and there is still love in this never-ending cycle. While seemingly separate things come to live and leave, the energy of change remains still and present, as a being that we cannot see, though we can feel it.
More knowledge is coming to me in new forms every day I spend on the farm. Loving experiences are becoming the day to day way of living. And I am now wondering… Will I ever be able to come back to my old life, anytime soon?
Thanks.
Gardening – Hernán A. García