My favorite part about gardening

I have really been loving my job so far, especially the mornings I spend in the garden. My favorite part about gardening is that it requires me to really be present in what I am doing--this is something that has greatly changed my views about the way I live.

I remember the experience that led to this revelation. I was checking the greens for cabbage loopers, examining each leaf and spraying with soapy water. After a thorough approach to the first few plants, I started trying to think up more efficient ways to accomplish the task. Would it work if I only looked down into the folds of the plant? Or if I only turned over the leaves that had bites taken out of them? I was taking much too long at this, and there had to be a way to quicken the pace.

The problem was that I am used to planning ahead in everything I do; I'm thinking ahead to the next thing I have to do before I am done with the previous. All the sudden it struck me-- if I missed one cabbage looper, it would eat the other leaves, and it would have been a waste of time to do this work at all. If I'm not trying my best on any task in the garden, if I'm speedy at it, it's not worth doing at all. There will be a long list of maintenance tasks day after day whether I take a long time or a short time inspecting for pests, so why not put forth due diligence and be thorough?

Working in a garden is unlike anything else I do because I'm not attached to the technology that allows me to multitask. I'm not interrupted by e-mails or cell phone calls. The only thing I have to do when I am out in the garden is do a good job at whatever task I'm given.

And the more I think about it, why do anything in life if I don't do it as best I can? If I cannot think of a compelling enough reason to do something the best I can without being distracted, is it worth doing at all?

This might sound so elementary. But for me, it was a life-changing discovery. I have always been a pretty hard worker, but I'm also pretty easily distracted. Striving to be present in everything I do has been extremely freeing for me. I stop worrying, I stop planning--I just do and be. And I have gotten much more fulfillment and enjoyment out of everything because of that.