Heartbeats and Hedges
Reflections on fall farm projects + an interoception meditation
To live in the country is to develop a very different relationship with the idea of “free time.” The pace at which brush piles accrete, seeds need starting, weeds need pulling, small and large repairs raise their urgent hands for attention, means that “boredom” is not really a thing. There is always something to be done. To live in the country is to learn the art of making peace with the unfinished and chaotic, at least if you ever want to sit down for five minutes and take in that beautiful view that drew you out here in the first place.
Out here in our patch of West Virginia, fall is in full swing. The leaves are turning and dropping to the forest floor, the various plant menaces that make yardwork treacherous (we have it all: poison ivy, Virginia creeper, poison oak, poison sumac) are finally starting to die back, and the garden snakes are getting sleepy. The unwanted plant life (I don’t like to say “weeds”) in the garden - although, to be fair, I just let the Queen Anne’s Lace do its thing this year - is slowing its frantic growth. It is Clean Up Season.
This morning, with an hour or two of “free time” on my hands, I announced to my husband that I’d be going down to our lower acre to disassemble a dead hedge that two years ago seemed like a great way to artfully store assorted downed limbs and debris, but is now a little saggy and uninspiring, more field mouse motel and less rustic architecture. Ever vigilant for ways that I might be saved a little labor, he asked: “What’s your goal, other than reclaiming the garden stakes? Should we wait until we rent that wood chipper we keep talking about?”
I was set back for a moment. The goal? I hadn’t really thought about it, except that I knew I’d been procrastinating on more than one project, and was aiming to start somewhere that felt good. There’s nothing like throwing around tree branches on a cool day to make you feel like you’re Getting A Thing Done. From a project management perspective, there were a million other places I could have started for better ROI, but I wanted to tackle the dead hedge just to get my hands busy, my heart rate up…and maybe, as an excuse to hang out with the sheep for a little bit (those creatures know how to take things easy.)
The question was a lovely, if unexpected, prompt to pause and reflect; to embrace the fact that not all household tasks need to be optimally productive. Sometimes the goal really is just to go outside and enjoy the crisp air and the quiet companionship of the farm animals.
Today’s meditation is a little like that: just an opportunity to check in with yourself for a few moments, irrespective of what else might be happening in our day. We’ll practice interoception - the sense that allows us to notice what is going on within our own bodies - as we take note of the heartbeat and the breath.
This is a great practice to take off the mat, cushion, or chair and into your day - taking an intentional moment, here and there amid life’s many projects, to stop and listen to what your body is telling you. Maybe it’s telling you that you need a snack…or a nap…or to call a friend. Maybe, it’s just telling you that you need to throw some sticks around and take a few deep breaths of crisp, cool air on a beautiful fall day.
Below: audio version of this post + 8-minute guided meditation
Post audio:
Meditation: