How Digging Deep Enhances Your Creativity

“Way down deep, you know what you like. You know what you’re drawn to. You know what will work for you. If you doubt this, or like a good majority of the people, feel totally lost when it comes to envisioning what you want, what is missing isn’t some superhuman insight; what’s missing is very simply trust in yourself.” Fran Sorin, Digging Deep

I was introduced to Fran Sorin’s Digging Deep: Unearthing Your Creative Roots Through Gardening book after getting acquainted with her online, a few years back. Boy, was I pleasantly surprised. Not just any gardening book, it is one that invites readers to awaken their creativity in a soulful process. I enjoyed her book tremendously. Well, Fran has just released her 10th anniversary edition. And so, I decided to jump at the chance of introducing it on my blog for compelling reasons.

As Digging Deep clearly illustrates, gardening is but a metaphor of life. It puts you in touch with the rhythms and cycles, the ups and downs and changes over the seasons. Through gardening, you undergo experiences that bring about emotional wholeness. Very importantly, you learn to let go of the outcome. Instead, you allow the results unfold whilst focusing on your own journey.

Most certainly, I find Digging Deep a timeless classic. It is not to be missed for anyone who is feeling stuck and need a boost of transformative creative energy. It is with creative imagination that you are able to see new possibilities. You become better at shifting yourself out of situations that no longer serve you (and this is something that I resonate with and often coach my clients on).

Creativity is a state of being. Through the 7 Stages of Creative Awakening described in Digging Deep, you are invited to embody creativity as a way of living. It is how you can best be as you build the garden of your dreams – a beautiful metaphor for creating a life of abundance indeed!

Let’s also read what Fran Sorin has to say in the following Q&A interview about her book….

Q. In the book, you say that our garden is the “place where we feel the most free to slip into a meditative, mindful state of being.” Do you see gardening as a spiritual practice?

A. Oh yes, for sure. The beauty of gardening is that humankind’s connection to nature is such a primordial one that when you slow down, and let yourself just ‘be’ in the moment with nature, tending to the plants, you automatically can enter a Zen like state. There’s a rhythm and beauty to it unlike any other spiritual practice I know of.

How many times have you heard a gardener discuss closing up their garden at the end of the day, with dirt in their fingernails, sweat coming down their face—and in that final moment, when their tools are piled up in the wheelbarrow, they take one last look at their garden ( perhaps it’s an early summer evening and the sun is glistening through the leaves of the tree) and they enter a state of reverie. They’ve transcended their normal consciousness and entered a state of reverie.

Believe me, those moments leave deep impressions in your soul and you walk through this earth overflowing with gratitude and a feeling of abundance. If that’s not spirituality, I don’t know what is.

Q. Your chapter titles read like a self-help book. You have chapters on Opening to Possibility, Trusting Your Instincts, Taking Risks, Living With Ambiguity, and Tapping into Flow. How does gardening teach us these lessons?

A. This is a good question. Gardening is one of the ultimate teachers that a person can have in a lifetime. Remember, your garden is not a static thing. It’s living, thriving, changing, and growing. Even if you tend to only one plant, you’re gardening. Unlike something that’s static in nature (or not alive), you can’t control a garden.

Let me give you an example. Let’s say you have a huge old oak tree in your back yard that is knocked down during a tornado. You’re most likely sad about it – who wouldn’t be? But after getting over the shock of it, you have a choice—either plant another tree to replicate what was there (in 30 years time) or look at this mishap as an opportunity for Opening to Possibility. Once the area is cleaned up, you realize that what was a very shady area now gets direct sun for much of the day—a perfect place for the edible garden you always wanted but never had the spot for. You start researching and designing it to take advantage of the early spring season only a few months away.

That little vignette is just one example of how gardening is a great teacher.

You know, when I wanted to renovate my garden in Philadelphia, it took me 2 years to figure out the design for the back yard. It was a steeply sloping, irregular lot. I had landscape architects and garden designers giving me advice galore.

But nothing felt right. So you know what? Although I was uncomfortable at times, I learned to live with ambiguity and trusted my instincts that the right solution would come to me. And it did. Two great lessons I got out of that.

The garden is constantly giving and teaching. All you have to do is open your eyes, awaken your other senses, slow down and just be open to what it has to offer you.

Q. In the book you say that “From working in the garden regularly, we learn to revere nature as our mentor, teacher, and guide.” Could you talk a little about that?

A. I felt a smile come across my face when reading this question because the truth is this. You can’t be in the garden and not learn from nature. It’s impossible: she keeps on giving, teaching, and modeling behaviors for us to learn from.

Let me give you a small example. If you’ve ever watched a sunflower seed germinate and grow, you know that its growth habit is nothing short of a miracle. I sometimes walk out in the morning after a night’s sleep and am convinced that a plant has grown at least 6 inches overnight. Have you ever counted how many seeds one sunflower has? Did you know that one sunflower can have anywhere from 800 to 2000 seeds? That’s hard to believe isn’t it? It’s actually a miracle.

One of the greatest lessons we can learn from nature is that we have everything we already need. If we listen and follow nature’s lead—as the Indigenous tribes do—our earth and humankind would be a healthier and kinder species.

Recommendation

If you need some inspiration for unleashing your creativity or if you simply enjoying learning life lessons from nature, read this book. Digging Deep is available in paperback and on kindle.

Love and Abundance always,

Abundance Alchemy Coach

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