Sowing the Seeds of LOVE

Are You Hungry? LIfe is Like a Box of Chocolates…

Sowing the Seeds of LOVE

It seems that every time I sit down to blog lately, my head starts to spin.

When we lived in New Zealand, blogging was like breathing to me, and I seemed to have plenty of time and inspiration to sit down and put pen to paper. Since moving back to Dubai, I have been swept away in the tsunami of hustle and bustle that makes this city tick.

Admittedly, I have calmed down a lot since we lived here last, but with settling back in, trying to sort out the schooling issues with Ruby, launching my first book, celebrating my 40th in the Maldives, and traveling to Ethiopia, it’s been a little bit crazy to say the least!

While I miss some aspects of New Zealand, I truly feel at home in the desert, and my heart sings knowing that I am planted where I am truly meant to be. New Zealand will always be a very special part of my life, and I will never forget the profound changes I experienced there, and the pure and utter beauty that I felt in my heart from being able to take the time to “stand still” in the pristine beauty that surrounded me.

As I sit here on the 24th of December with a belly full of turkey, and 3 little munchkins tucked up in their beds, I feel a deep sense of peace in knowing that this year has brought us many great challenges, and many blessings.

There have been many times this year that I have questioned just exactly what it is I am doing, and where I am going. I have questioned who I am, and whether or not I am the same person that I was when I left a few years back. And while the answer to that is a clear “no”, I find it easier to just drift in the moment, and let it define the “who”, the “what”, and the “where” of my everyday life.

I have been really excited about the new energy that is emerging around us with the end of the Mayan calendar. I have been eager to feel it enter, almost more than my children wanting to see their Christmas tree laden with presents, I wanted to personally feel this new wave of LOVE that is meant to wash over us.

And so, the 21st came, and rather than feeling a wave of love, I was hit hard with a sea of chaos! James and I were arguing, the kids were throwing tantrums, and everyone around me seemed very unsettled. Not exactly what I had in mind!!

There has been an uneasiness in the air, and I know that there are many of you out there that felt it too. For me, that’s the time I need to break out of the comfort zone and get out and connect with nature before I completely lose my mind!

I decided recently that we needed a little piece of NZ here in Dubai with us as we have been missing our veggie garden! Enter Hayley from Be Supernatural, Dubai’s gardening and all things that are natural and healthy guru, and soon enough, we were planting seeds to bring some life to our front garden!

I went to the local plant market and got a few plants to get me started….

Then Hayley came over and away we went! The timing felt so right….there we were planting new seeds, for a new garden that will hopefully help to nourish my family and give us the sense that we are contributing to a healthier planet. I want my girls to know everything there is to know about being able to provide fresh food for themselves and their families in the future, and there is no simpler and greater gift than planting a simple garden to get things going!

Being able to share Hayley’s knowledge was amazing. In New Zealand, it is very easy to grow just about anything. Here in Dubai, it is a completely different story with a lower quality of soil, searing temperatures, and little rain. Hayley has the experience of knowing how to plan your garden to get the most out of the Dubai climate. She drew up a plan, which I can now duplicate once it comes time to replant everything. You can tell that Hayley is super passionate about what she does, and I highly recommend using her services if you are interested in getting a healthy veggie patch growing (with a lot more than just tomatoes and herbs!) here in Dubai!

Of course I also had some help from one of my own little garden fairies…..

And if planting our home garden wasn’t enough to ground me, then it was off to the magic and beauty of the desert to mark the occasion of “new beginnings”. What better place to feel alive and free? To feel at peace, and to throw all your cares to the wind and just let yourself go?

I had a vision some time ago about planting a tree in the desert. I know it sounds crazy, but if we are to be living in a world of infinite possibilities and to live outside the norm of everyday life, then doesn’t it stand to reason that there might just be room for a bit of magic in our lives? Isn’t it possible that with a bit of love and good intention that anything can grow even in the starkest surroundings?

Let’s hope so!!

What I can say for sure is that it became very apparent to me that we need very little in life to be happy……….

With nothing more than miles of sand,

a few random trees,

the warm sun on our backs,

Stu on the BBQ,

and the beautiful company of great friends,

there is really nothing more that I could have asked for to bring me that energy of peace, love, and harmony that I so knew was possible. The key is that, in order to find it, I needed to just breathe and take a step back, and get back to basics. That always seems to work for me.

Take a breath, slow down, and inhale the simple beauty that surrounds me every day if I take a minute to see it.

Can you see how much magic there is in simplicity?

And as for that tree, we planted it that day. Took our spades, found a shady haven under another tree, and planted that tree, with hopes that with a little love and magic, it will thrive in the heat of the desert.