春天已经回来了，提醒每个人的生命周期和他们在大众变化和成长的节日中的作用。伟大的大自然正在爆发出美丽和复兴的预兆，与自然界联系并思考你在其中的位置和意义，最佳方式之一就是通过园艺。
那么，你如何利用这一爱好来减少压力，并改善整体精神健康？简单地说，古老的正念智慧和冥想实践，与现代科学，你可以将两者结合起来。这里有五种不同的园艺方式，可以成为正念的一种练习。
它将你与生命周期联系起来
If you dig deep into anxiety’s dark heart, you’ll find that it ultimately boils down to what the poet John Keats once described as fears that you’ll cease to be. Few people have the power to divert an Earth-threatening comet any more than they can prevent the next war or pandemic or single-handedly stop the climate crisis. Eventually, even the wealthiest will discover that all their money can’t stop the inevitable. Death lurks everywhere—but the other side of the coin is life.
Gardening reminds you of the truth of death exposed in the ancient tarot card of the same name. Rather than representing destruction and despair, it symbolizes the principle of change, which can seem scary, but ultimately leads to better things. You’ll embrace the life cycle when you hold the rich organic compost created from your old coffee grounds in your hands, and those beans that began as flowers will rise again from the ground as new ones.
What a powerful way to meditate on the cycle of life! You’ll begin to see the truth in Einstein’s most famous theorem that energy can never be created nor destroyed, only transformed. It’s the ultimate, immutable law of nature. Every living creature is mostly stardust, and we’re all a part of an undying universal symphony.
它让你立足于当下
正念冥想包括让自己立足于当下，并在当下吸收你体内和体外的世界。园艺将帮助您达到这种难以捉摸的心流状态，在这种状态下，时间停止，您只关注来自感官的输入。
However, unlike repetitive tasks, gardening will also engage your creativity. It’s the opposite of working on an assembly line or placing items on shelves, facing them correctly. You need to make constant, yet non-taxing decisions—will these species do better in the sun or shade? Should I dig this hole a bit deeper so the roots have more room to expand? How close together should I place these forsythias to create a privacy hedge?
Making these life-affirming choices might be work, but it’s the kind most folks find relaxing. It also creates a sense of agency, something many people lack these days, as their jobs require them to follow orders with little room for innovation.
它调动了你所有感官
Digging your hands deep into the cool, loamy earth ignites your sense of touch. Did you find an earthworm? You know these critters benefit your garden, but you should pause for a moment before returning your legless buddy to their home, and feel the slickness of their flesh wriggling between your fingers. Thank them for their soil-tilling benefits before returning them to your petunia bed.
园艺对你的嗅觉也是一种享受。当水亲吻每一个新挖的洞里的干燥土地时，请品尝一下水的香气--就像吸入夏天的雨水。在挑选品种的时候，要品尝各种玫瑰的香味。你在家里制作乳液或香水吗？在不同的苗圃周围流连上数小时，让鼻子引领你的下一个混合香味的方向。
Taste is another oft-neglected sense, but you can delight it with your fruit and vegetable selections. Set your tongue ablaze with fiery pepper varieties—the capsaicin they contain will ease minor aches and pains and cool you down on summer days. Relish the delicate sweetness of watermelon and peach, a flavour combination that’ll transform your tap water into a treat when you soak these fruits in it overnight.
它提醒你要除草和修剪
园艺的一部分工作，是剪掉黑色和病态的枝叶，并清除威胁植物生命的有害物种。这非常像生活本身。消除负面的东西，可以为正面的东西创造更多的空间。有时，你必须把坏的东西去掉，让好的东西流动起来。
当你修剪你的灌木和树木时，想想什么会在你的生活中激发出快乐。你为要什么创造更多的空间？例如，社交媒体是与远方的朋友和家人联系的一种光荣方式，但用得太多，会让你与现实生活中的关系脱节。你怎样才能取得更好的平衡，也许在短暂的工作休息时间在网上与朋友打招呼，但在与配偶吃晚饭时砍掉那根 "枯枝"？
As you pull weeds, think about what you’d be better off eliminating from your life. For example, alcohol can have heart-health benefits for some, but other people have different chemistry, making them more likely to become addicted. In fact, consuming more than two glasses of booze a day has the opposite effect of hurting your heart and other organs. If you’re one of those people who struggles to say “enough” after one glass—are you better off eliminating it from your diet completely?
It encourages wu wei
What is wu wei? The literal translation means “effortless doing” or even “doing nothing,” making it sound like a recipe for laziness and apathy. Instead, though, this Taoist principle emphasizes mindfulness: in other words, accomplishing things, but in such a thoughtful way that nothing remains undone.
Wu wei challenges you to align your actions and behaviours with natural laws. Everything changes, but violent upheavals also bring unnecessary strife and suffering. This principle encourages you to move like a bamboo plant bending in the wind, going with the currents rather than against them.
想一想吧，你不会在阿拉斯加的荒野上种植仙人掌，并期望它能茁壮成长。然而，同样的仙人掌在西南部的沙漠中会表现得很好。
Above all, wu wei reminds you to put your forceful will and ego aside and think about things as they are, not as you wish they would be. How can you nurture them to that objective? All the longing in the world won’t make your asparagus sprout—but the right combination of soil nutrients and sunlight will.
园艺的正念意义
如果你在大流行期间没有进入园艺行业，现在还不算太晚。每一天都是重新开始的好日子，特别是考虑到你可以从这个爱好中获得的心理健康好处。
为什么不花点时间思考一下，园艺在这五个方面形成一种正念练习？然后，你将在精神上做好准备，戴上手套，在滋养盖亚大地之神和她创造物的微妙艺术中让自我沉迷。
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