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FEATURE COLUMN
by Terry Hershey
Gardens and Grace:
Sanctuaries in the ordinary
Don't miss this garden workshop!
“By a garden is meant mystically a place of spiritual repose, stillness,
peace, refreshment, delight.”
John Henry Cardinal Newman
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes,
but in having new eyes.”
Proust
“I don't know about you, but I practice a disorganized religion. I belong
to an unholy disorder. We call ourselves 'Our Lady of Perpetual Astonishment.'”
Kurt Vonnegut
“Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets
us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help.
Gardening is an instrument of grace.”
May Sarton
Today I am eating cherry tomatoes off the vine. They are still warm from the
sun. Which is saying a lot for a November in Seattle. But today is a lottery-winner-type-of-day.
Early November, and I'm standing in shirt sleeves picking from what's left in the garden. (Of
course, by the time you read this, it'll be December, the weather will be dreary, and I'll
be dreaming of Kauai. . .)
Today is Autumn Garden Clean Up day. My day to trim, dead head, discard, compost, assess.
. .and to tidy up. There is only one minor snag. I'm suffering a serious attack of post traumatic
motivational deprivation. Especially when it comes to the “cleaning-up” part. I'd rather munch
on tomatoes.
Thoreau's on my side here. He said that it is a great art to saunter. Well, today, in the
spirit of Thoreau 'tis a great art to fritter away dollops of the afternoon, and munch on tomatoes.
I look up at the dead alder tree near the garden. Less than one hundred feet from our back
door we have a Pileated Woodpecker nest. There is still an oval opening, a hole, near the top
of the dead tree. It's amazing really. The opening looks as if it had been crafted by hand
tools, perfectly shaped with beveled edges.
This past summer, the mother woodpecker (or father, I couldn't tell, and don't really want
to be sexist here) would fly to the tree trunk every half hour to forty-five minutes. When
we would see her (or him), it was time to find the binoculars and watch the show. Two small
mouths, and then bodies, emerge, their chatter insistent, adjuratory, and even without translation,
easily understood. One day in August the fledglings left the nest, and are still in our forest.
We see them on occasion (no doubt when they return to the nest to ask for money from their
parents. . .).
 I walk (no. . .I saunter, really) down near the base of the woodpecker tree. There are still
blooms on one of my David Austin roses. An ephemeral pink, dogged, persistent and resilient.
On the ground nearby, the winter jasmine has begun its flamboyant display, covered in banana
yellow blossoms (as if in defiance of the season).
By now enough time has passed, and I decide: Cleaning up will have to wait for another day.
Truth be told, I came to the garden to exorcize some weight in my soul. I was looking for
that place John Henry Cardinal Newman speaks about, “of spiritual repose, stillness, peace,
refreshment, delight.”
“What's wrong,” a good friend asked.
“I wish I knew.” I told him. “It's not a feeling I carry, but a physical sensation, like some
unnamed weight, some unnamed sorrow. And I don't know why.”
I think I convinced myself that life is somewhere else, and I missed it. And try as I might,
with pep talks and the requisite dose of shame from the religion of my childhood, my mind and
heart is still weighed down.
Where all this comes from, I'm not sure, but I do know this: Today
I'm giving the sun and the garden the power of attorney for my psyche.
In the garden I found no answers. But I did find the glow of a flower and the warmth of the
sun. I had only mystery. And peace. There was no need to explain, or clarify, or analyze. Which
meant I was lost in the moment—what some Catholics have called the Sacrament of the Present
Moment—seeing each present moment as diffused with holiness. It reminded me of Susanna Wesley's
immortal prayer, “Help me, Lord, to remember that religion is not to be confined to the church,
or closet, nor exercised only in prayer and meditation, but that everywhere I am in Thy presence.”
So I munched tomatoes, for a spell, in that presence.
I envy people with clarity about life's conundrums.
 And it hit me. I make the mistake when I attempt to fight discontent (or disease, or dissatisfaction,
or sorrow, or sadness) with information or strategies, as if the right knowledge (or technology
or advice or scripture verse) will win the day. As if we can defeat any affliction or difficulty
with will power. In the end, it's all some version of spiritual arm wrestling. Trouble is,
our need for control blunts our sense of delight, which is, in the end, the very stuff of life.
There are times when I want to control my life, instead of just living it. (I can do the same
thing with my garden. Sometimes I want a landscape —something for public opinion—instead of
a garden which can be wild and unpredictable.) So I see any deviation from the script as an
indictment, to be tidied up so I can get “back to my life.”
Which begs the question. What if
this is my life? As long as life is about answers, or tomorrow, of eternity, we cannot rest
until we arrive. But what if we are not going anywhere? What if we are simply living? What
if we are already, today, this day, on sacred ground?
(I confess that this line of reasoning throws me into a two-Prozac tizzy and is a mental malfunction
only cured by munching more garden tomatoes.)
In the last newsletter I quoted Richard Rohr's statement of "Don't Push the River." My
friend Andrea reminded me that the next line is "Trust the flow." And when we feed
the “wrong dog”—that part of us fueled by fear, we not only push the river, but simultaneously
build damns causing massive destruction to our authentic selves.
I once heard a preacher accuse another preacher of heresy. You know, believing false doctrine.
As if the whole lot of us sharing the same doctrine or philosophy is the goal.
I don't fear
for a person with the wrong theology. I fear for the person who has given in to disheartenment.
The one who is, literally, “without a heart.”
I have said in other places that people who love this world, people who pay attention, are
gardeners. People who cherish. ..and to cherish, one must be present. Still curious. Committed
to living life. This life.
If not, we are victims. Voiceless and choiceless.
So. On this day, I choose to go to my garden to remember that life is about the moment.
I go to my garden to be surprised.
I go to my garden to let the cares of the day dissipate.
I go to my garden to listen to my heart.
I go to the garden to regain my soul.
It is afternoon in my garden. I have yet to accomplish even one assignment on my Autumn Clean
Up list. So I pick one more tomato. And with an imaginary pencil I add one more item to my
list.
Today I go to my garden to hear the voice of grace.
Check.
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Stories about rediscovering wonder. Stories about the sacrament of the blessed moment. Go to the site, read the stories, and leave a story for us to read.
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Free Group Discussion Guide |
| Sacred Necessitites
Discussion Guide
is available on our website. Topics include: Big Leaf Dance, Amazement, Sanctuary, Stillness, Grace, Simplicity, Resilience and Friendship.
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Letters... |
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“Thank you so much for the CD set!!! I laughed, I cried. . .it was wonderful.
I want everyone I know to listen to it. It is currently in my neighbor's car. Truly moving. .
.actually I need to listen to it again. Thank you for being human and helping your fellow humans
to see, to feel, the incredible beauty of simply being, and being awake. What a gift.”
FM, Los Angeles
MANY thanks, dear Terry, for your GREAT Newsletter! If not before, we shall
see you at Kanuga next May, God willin' and the cricks don't rise! We are
very much looking forward to that special time at that special place! In
the meantime, count on our devoted prayers that you will continue to be
empowered to be such a valuable and delightful blessing to SSSOOOO many of us searching gardeners.
Devotedly,
Lee Jaster (and Margaret Perrone)
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NEW MORNING TV
On The Hallmark Channel |
Watch Terry on New Morning, every morning 7 am on the Hallmark Channel. Late risers, use your Tivo. You can see all of Terry's stories on the Hallmark website.
Go to www.terryhershey.com and click on the Hallmark link.
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Review of Sacred Necessites |
Spirituality and Health Magazine
“One of the first things you notice about Terry Hershey is that he is a relaxed and playful
person who is at home in his own skin. But for many years he was a self-confessed workaholic
out there doing many things to make the world a better place. Now, he has learned how to slow
down — while still doing good things. We haven't visited him in his home on Vashon, an island
in the Puget Sound, but he tells us that gardening is a passion that perks up his mind, body
and soul.
Down through the centuries there have been individuals in all religious traditions who have
gone against the cultural grain of the times: sacred clowns in Native American traditions, St.Francis
and members of his order who saw themselves as jesters of the Lord, the Hasidic sage known as
the Baal Shem Tov, and of course, the Zen masters with their koans. Terry Hershey stands in this
multi-faith tradition of crazy wisdom.
Come. Set aside your to-do lists for a while and join the author for some stories, quotations,
and musings on this crazy, wonderful, mysterious, and grace-filled world we share. Hershey explores
what he calls seven sacred necessities: amazement, sanctuary, grace, stillness, simplicity, resilience,
and friendship.
The best place to read this paperback is your own special hideaway where you will not be bothered
by intrusions or distractions. Be prepared to look at your life and your priorities from a
spiritual perspective that challenges pragmatism and productivity and celebrates uselessness
and down time. We were happy to see one of our favorite movies in this book — Joe Versus the
Volcano — a loopy parable about the spiritual practice of letting go and gliding into wonder
— or as Hershey calls it, amazement. We also loved the passage from Winnie the Pooh on the art
of doing nothing. And if you fall asleep in your chair after savoring one passage or another,
don't worry: Terry Hershey praises napping as one of the best things around.”
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussatt
Sacred Necessities
The Source
Greater Seattle's Ecumenical Newspaper
“Terry Hershey's new book, Sacred Necessities, give readers seven good reasons
to take time to appreciate God's wonder-filled creation. Think you're too busy to slow down?
You may need this book. . .using descriptive detail, good example and the interweaving of comments
from well-known spiritual and literary figures, Hershey offers readers a picture of getting the
most from life. 'We've made mistake in making some box around God, in separating the sacred from
the secular,' Hershey says. 'God is in the extraordinarily ordinary.' In this book, the ordinary
Hershey describes give readers spiritual nourishment and the chance to slow down and enjoy the
beauty of life.”
Tricia Schug
Sacred Necessities
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Bring Terry to Your Church or Organization |
Seminar / Parish mission / Leadership training
Call 800-524-5370
Visit our web site for topics www.terryhershey.com
Contact us for a DVD to be sent to your parish / organization.
www.terryhershey.com
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Healing Gardens
to Visit |
Enid Haupt Glass Garden
New York City, NY
Faith and Healing Garden
Sacred Heart Medical Center,
Spokane, WA
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Websites to
Visit... |
A friend with art / stories / sayings to feed the soul.
Mary Anne Radmacher
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Terry's Schedule |
December 5, 7
Cascade Valley Hospital
Arlington, WA
December 8-10
New Morning TV
New York, NY
December 11
Mission Basilica
Eileen Smith
San Juan Capistrano, CA
December 12
St. Gregory the Great
Ron Diem
San Diego, CA
December 13
Padre Serra Parish
Eve Collier
Camarillo, CA
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Words to Live By
Charles Dickens commented once about being in a gathering of divines in a
very ecclesiastical setting, and the meeting extended itself a long, long time, droning away
on unimportant subjects treated without feeling. Mr. Dickens interrupted the proceedings by
saying, “ I have a suggestion. Why don't we move to a table, and sit around the table and hold
hands, and see if we can make contact with the living.”
Hospitality is the fundamental virtue of the soil It makes room. It shares. It neutralizes
poisons. And so it heals. This is what the soil teaches: If you want to be remembered, give
yourself away.
William Bryant Logan
The best place to find God is in a garden. You can dig for him there.
George Bernard Shaw
Image consciousness and gardening don't mix. Image consciousness
and any enterprise where the soul is involved don't mix. But isn't that the beginning of
understanding spirituality. To be image conscious keeps our guard up. It keeps our judgments
- about ourselves, others, and God - sharply defined, for we want to make sure we play
the right notes. Thus, we are unable to hear the music, which is another way of saying
we are unable to receive, to welcome, to embrace.
Terry Hershey
What I know of the divine sciences and Holy Scriptures, I learned in woods and fields. I
have no other masters than the beeches and the oaks.
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux
Connection with gardens, even small ones, even potted plants, can become windows to the
inner life. The simple act of stopping and looking at the beauty around us can be prayer.
Patricia R. Barrett, The Sacred Garden
The ability to multitask has curbed their ability to focus on a single thing, the ability
to be silent and still inside, basically the ability to be unplugged and content. That's
true for the whole culture. Most adults have a hard time doing that, too. What we're losing
is the contemplative dimension of life. For our sanity, we need to cultivate that.
David
Levy (University of Washington on high tech communications and quality of life)
Gardens and Grace
Kanuga Conference Center
Gardens and Grace:
Gentleness and Beauty,
Spaciousness and Healing,
Stillness and Delight
May 21-24, 2006
Kanuga Conference Center
Gardens large and small, wild and manicured are extraordinary containers for life-enhancement and spiritual
growth. This unique conference, in an exquisite garden setting, will provide breathing space; time
for solitude and community, time for relaxation and restoration; time to learn about and to cherish
the natural world. Inspirational meditations and workshops, teaching and input, sharing and celebrating
will encourage a deepening of faith, hope and love. Come and see how the garden grows!
Speakers include:
Esther de Waal
Rev. Philip Roderick
Rev. Terry Hershey
Some of the workshops offered:
- Body Prayer:
The gentle interplay between heaven and earth
- The Cardboard Band:
Contemplative Christian chant with an Afro-Celtic
flavor!
- Still Walk
(A walk of awareness around the lake at Kanuga)
- Soul Gardening
(Lessons the garden teaches us to live fully and with passion)
- Prayer and Healing in the Garden
- Creating a Sanctuary Garden
(practical suggestions for making a sacred
space, applicable to small or large gardens)
- The Garden and Sabbath
(slowing down and stillness)
- The Gift of the Garden
(spiritual, emotional, social benefits)
- Garden Design Workshop
(nuts and bolts basics to consider for personal
gardens and for Church memorial gardens)
- Caring for the Earth
- Labyrinths and the garden
"By a garden is meant mystically a place of spiritual repose, stillness, peace, refreshment, delight."
John
Henry Cardinal Newman
Workshop
Information
Double room occupancy $395 / Single room occupancy $485 /
Commuter (locals in the area of Kanuga)
$225 /
Participating spouse $325 /
Non participating spouse $245 (for meals and lodging only)
New Book
Sacred Necessities
 Sacred Necessities:
Gifts for Living with Passion, Purpose, and Grace
It is a form of soul food. What is it that makes life worth living? What makes the everyday ordinary world extraordinary . . . even sacred? If we want to be truly alive, there are just a few things we really need, a few sacred necessities:
Amazement, Sanctuary, Grace, Stillness, Simplicity, Resilience, Friendship
We can't buy them. We can't make them in an instant. But if we are willing to accept rather than grasp at them, they are already there for us - serendipitous gifts waiting to be experienced. And then, practiced.
Sacred Necessities: Gifts for living with Passion, Purpose and Grace is a tonic for the heart, a restorative for our emotional well-being, and feast for our soul. MORE
You can read all of the back issues of "A Few Things That Matter" on our website. Scroll to the bottom to see an index of all issues. If you subscribe at terryhershey.com you will receive a new newsletter about once a month.
Contact us. . .send us a story. . .tdh@terryhershey.com |
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