The Joys of Gardening

If you are not a gardener, you may wonder why this hobby has become so popular even with people who have the resources to go to the grocery and get food with much less effort. Perhaps much of the joy that comes from gardening originated in the baby boomer values that came from those golden days of the 1960s.  Part of the ethical and moral system of that time in our cultural history was the “back to the land” movement to get back to our roots and away from the alleged sins of modern society.

From this same movement, we got the increased interest in vegetarianism, yoga, natural eating and the environmental movement. So, while we may look back with a bit of chagrin on the idealism and sometimes radical values for the time, that baby boomer history represents, there are some very good lifestyle choices that came from that era of our shared lives. And the love of gardening is one of the good things that many of us kept from that time.

Gardening is a hobby that is unique among pastimes because virtually nothing bad can come of it. Even if you are a total failure at gardening and don’t produce a single morsel of food from your garden, just the act of working with the earth and making something grow is so therapeutic that it’s worth the effort even if you only grow weeds☹.

Some reasons gardening is a wonderful hobby is that it’s simple, inexpensive, and joyful. With gardening, you can keep it simple or you can get as sophisticated and scientific at it as you please. Gardening is like fishing in the way that even if you are terrible at it, it’s entirely worth doing just for the joy of the time you are in your garden. There really is nothing comparable in therapy for going out in the garden in the evening after a stressful day. Working with the soil and spending sometime nurturing and pouring your tender loving care into the garden can make those worries and anxieties of the office melt away. Then when you come in after an hour of gardening, those cares take on their proper perspective so you can deal with them.

Gardening in creativity for the uncreative. When you till your garden and prepare your soil, that is like a master painter preparing his paints to produce that masterpiece. But when you finally open the packages of seeds or take the small plant from its container and you place them just so in that carefully prepared soil, there is a sensation of making something happen that is new life. This feeling happens because you are creating life by the act of planting. This feeling, I believe, refreshes even the most cynical boomer and puts them in touch with themselves and with nature in a way that is hard to match in any other pastime.

Even the simple act of watering has almost a mystical power for you and the time it takes to water your garden can become the best part of your day. But when that day comes that you rush out to your garden and see those young sprouts come up that you so carefully planted and cared for, it’s a little moment of parenting that can bring real joy to your heart.

We understand that we did not create the seed and that we are no more than caregivers that helps the plant sprout and then grow into a plant. By becoming part of the cycle of nature when we care for the plants in our garden, it gives us a feeling of completion. That connection to the eternal cycle of life will lift our spirit.

So, don’t be afraid to put together a small plot of land and begin planning your little garden. Even if you are an apartment dweller, you can organize a garden with planter boxes and grow lights and get many of the same joys from your little garden that the master garden with acres of crops can get.

Gardening Tips for Beginners

It is the middle of winter, but it is never too early to think about your garden, March will be here in less than two weeks and Spring is not far behind. Over the next few posts I am going to focus on gardening.

If you are just beginning with gardening, don't be afraid for it is not meant to be difficult. In fact, it can be so much fun much more than what you think. If you don't know how to start, there is always an avenue of knowledge for you: your parents to assist you, informational books and magazines to read, and the internet to browse more information.

It used to be that gardening appealed only to the older generation. But nowadays, people of all ages, children, young adults, adults, and old folks alike, they see gardening as a refreshing and rewarding hobby to take. Why not? With all the benefits that you get, being a busy, career person should never be used as a hindrance to starting growing your own plants indoor or outdoor. You will see the big difference when you get to harvest your own fruits of labors.

It doesn't matter what you prefer. Would you like to have a bed of beautiful and colorful flowers, country garden full of wildflowers and shrubs, manicured lawn strategically placed with shrubs and little trees, or just a simple backyard with lots of pots and containers planted with grown plants? It isn't a problem to start one because you can find lots of information on how you can start doing them. You can also ask questions and assistance from the experts.

For a starter, you will need these basic tools: trowel, spade, lawnmower, rake, and plants of your choice to grow. It would help a lot if you have some sort of garden plan based on the space that is available. In this way, it won't be difficult for you to arrange some things like flower beds, lawns, paths, and on your garden bed or space. 

The kinds of plants that you will grow will depend on what you want, the availability, and the climate that your location has. There are plants that grow only for the season but there are others too that can be cultivated to grow year after year. If you consider yourself a hobby gardener like me, then you would want to have plants that do not grow more than two seasons. These are perennial plants that allow you to tend to other things other than mere gardening.

If you don't know what plants to start growing, you can always ask assistance from the local nursery available in your location. The experts from there should know what types would thrive specifically considering the climate in your area. And speaking of the local nursery, it is one avenue to buy plants you want in your garden. It is usually available with packets of seeds or small young plants for the beginners to grow. I prefer the young plants as I find it too much trouble to grow from seed. My brother, however, has a greenhouse and he swears that growing from seed is the only way to garden. You can obtain them whether via online or mail order.

The small young plants are great choice if you want to have an automatic decorative display in your garden. Otherwise, as my brother does, choosing seeds to grow and watching them grow will provide great satisfaction from the accomplishment of having to cultivate and care for them. You can have the seeds planted in pots or containers, or you can plant them onto the pre-designed bed of soil. Gardening is fun and exciting, and of course, rewarding.

Green Shield vs Blue Cross

Institutional ageism appears to be built into the culture of Green Shield Health Insurance. I say that because I have been hearing stories from friends about their dealings with our insurer and because of my first-hand experience. First, I know I am lucky to have extended medical coverage in retirement, but I still expect good service and respect from our insurer. Our Pension Board recently changed from Blue Cross to Green Shield to save members money. Since my health is relatively good as is my wife's we have not had to deal much with our insurer. Friends of mine have been complaining about the service they got with Green Shield and what they used to get with Blue Cross. I thought they were exaggerating, until recently. 

Institutional discrimination is being challenged in today's society. Many women are challenging the sexual discrimination and sexism that has occurred for far too many years in our institutions and our society. Racism has raised its ugly head in the United States because of the attitude of the leadership in that country. In Canada, we, as a society, have yet to come to terms with our racist attitude toward our indigenous people, but we are working (some would say not hard enough) to try to change our attitudes. But institutional and societal racism is still in Canada as noted by the killing of the indigenous youth in Saskatchewan, and the way the RCMP gave the news to his family and the not guilty verdict handed down by an all-white jury.  

Ageism is another form of discrimination that exists in our institutions, and our society. Butler defined "ageism" as a combination of three connected elements. Among them were prejudicial attitudes towards older people, old age, and the ageing process; discriminatory practices against older people; and institutional practices and policies that perpetuate stereotypes about elderly people. I believe that Green Sheild practices institutional ageism because they have, I believe discriminatory practices and perpetuate stereotypes about seniors. 

My wife went to her doctor to get some medication and was prescribed the medication for three months by her doctor. I went to the pharmacy and they told me that Green Shield only allows a patient a week for new medication, and after a week Green Shield would allow the patient to get the remainder of the medication. This to me, means that Green Sheild policy shows that the organization believes that seniors do not have the ability to know what is good for them and therefore Green Shield must protect seniors, which is a form of ageism. 

I know that any organization that practices discrimination such as Green Shield will deny that they practice discrimination and ageism, and that is because they are blind to the facts. They may think that they are doing the best for their clients, which of course means they believe the client does not have the ability to make good decisions. Is the development of these policies based on the idea that all seniors become forgetful or get dementia or another form of cognitive slowdown? 

Because they appear to have an institutional ageism, to which they are blind, Green Shield takes a paternalistic attitude towards its patients and has, it appears no problem overriding Doctors, and Specialists who prescribed the medication, which is demeaning to the patient. Because of institutional discrimination against seniors built on ageist policies, Green Shield attitudes towards its clients that are a throwback to the 50's, when paternalistic attitudes were common.

I don't think I am alone in my attitude that Green Shield was not the best choice for us because of their paternalistic and condescending attitude and ageist practices because when I read our newsletter the following caught my eye:

The office staff are spending quite a bit of time dealing with questions and issues around Green Shield Canada (GSC) – the Extended Health Benefit provider for members in the Pension Plan. The move to Green Shield was a decision of the Pension Board of Trustees – not (us). The decision was made following an open competition; other insurance companies were invited to submit proposals and GSC won the competition. (We) play no role in this as we have no direct contractual relationship with GSC.

Green Shield appears to have upset many of my colleagues and the executive of the organization appears to be playing a game of "it's not me it is them" to try to placate members. The executive may not have a contractual relationship with Green Shield but they do have an obligation to their members to investigate the issues and if the membership is not happy to make their wishes known to the Pension Board of Trustees. The Pension Board will not listen to individual members but it may listen to an organization that speaks for thousands of members. If the executive chooses not to act then they by their inaction are accepting that institutional discrimination practiced by Green Shield is acceptable to them.

I don't mind paying a bit more to be treated with the respect that I deserve as an adult, instead of being treated like a child by Green Shield so I would not object to a move back to Blue Cross, which did treat us with respect and did not appear to have an institutional culture of ageism and discrimination.

I did send an email stating the above to Green Shield which was taken from their website, however, the email was bounced back. (see below) So Green Shield, which has a Web page dedicated to dealing with customer complaints, doesn't even have an email on its site that is correct. What can I say about poor attitude and poor customer relations?

Delivery has failed on the enclosed message for the following reasons reported either by the mail delivery system on the mail relay host or by the local TCP/IP transport module:

   550 5.1.1 <tpbt@pensionsbc.ca> recipient rejected

   550 5.1.1 <customer.service@greenshield.ca> recipient rejected

Why We Love Certain Books

There are books that speak to my soul and feel as if the author knows and understands me. Here is one explanation of why we love certain books. In the plot, we move from one important moment directly to the next – whereas in life there are endless sub-plots that distract and confuse us. In a story, the key events of a relationship unfold across a few dozen pages: in life, they are spread over many years and interleaved with hundreds of business meetings, holidays, hours spent watching television, chats with one’s parents, shopping trips and dentist’s appointments. The compressed logic of a plot corrects the chaos of existence: the links between events can be made much more obvious. We understand – finally – what is going on.

Writers reveal people’s secret thoughts and motives. The characters are much more clearly defined than the people we actually encounter. On the page, we meet purer villains, braver more resourceful heroes, people whose suffering is more obvious or whose virtues are more striking than would ever normally be the case. They – and their actions – provide us with simplified targets for our emotional lives. We can love or revile them, pity them or condemn them more neatly than we ever can our friends and acquaintances.

We need simplification because of the complexity of our lives. The writer, in books that get us, puts into words feelings that had long eluded us, they know us better than we know ourselves. They seem to be narrating our own stories, but with a clarity, we could never achieve. 

So often we feel lost for words; we’re impressed by the sight of a bird wheeling in the dusk sky; we’re aware of a particular atmosphere at dawn, we love someone’s slightly wild but sympathetic manner. We struggle to verbalize our feelings. Feelings that we see as too complex, subtle, vague and elusive for us to be able to verbalize. The best writers home in on the angle of the wing; the slow movement of the largest branch of a tree; the angle of the mouth in a smile. Through the writer’s words the nuance of life, become more visible.

When the book touches us, the writer builds bridges and cut through to the common core of the experience. By selection and emphasis, they reveal the important things we share. They show us where to look. They help us to feel.

In the pages of a story, we meet someone, perhaps a person who is very beautiful/handsome, tender, sensitive, young and/or dying; and we weep for the character and all the cruelty and injustice of the world. And we come away, not devastated, but refreshed. Our emotional muscles are exercised and their strength rendered newly available for our lives.

The task of linking the right book to the right person at the right time is not easy, but when we happen to come across the ideal book for us we are presented with an extraordinarily clearer, more lucid, better-organised account of our own concerns and experiences: for a time at least, our minds become less clouded and our hearts become more accurately sensitive. Through authors words, we become a little better at being who we always really were or wanted to be in life. Enjoy. My thanks to Ronnie at Time Goes By for the link.