Let's Talk Dirt | Sonja Wendt

We are now in the season of winter where in the northern hemisphere and states, if there is no or little snow, the land is brown and dormant. The fields and gardens are bare, no plants on the surface, just the frozen soil.

Winter Field — Photo by Valeriu Surujiu on 123RF

I appreciate being in a climate where there are four seasons. Each season has it value, physically, mentally, and spiritually, even within the black and white stillness of winter or ranging winds of blowing snow. There is different beauty in each season. Do you see it? Do you feel it?

Cultivating compassion in children is rooted in the dirt, in the morals and principles they grow up in. In this season of winter, step back and take the time to look at the dirt. Have the morals and principles instilled in your child developed into a happy, caring, generous, giving, and loving

little person? Cultivators know that plants grow and thrive not because of the type of plant they happened to plant, but because of the soil in which it was planted. The soil is what sustains the growth of the plant, it’s what holds the root, which is needed to nourish the plant. When you care for the soil, you are caring for the plant. Likewise, when you care about the environment your child is raised, you are caring for the healthy growth of your child. It’s not easy. It might get messy and dirty. But it’s in the dirt where new life takes root. Don’t get stuck in the mud, worrying about the small stuff. Like rich compost, the best soil is filled with pieces of the past, good and bad, tilled together to make it rich and sustaining. Cultivate the soil. Get your hands dirty. Dig in and look at the dirt and what it has produced.

Use this time as we recover from a pandemic, to reflect and assess the values and priorities you have established. Is there anything you want to change moving forward? Are there other nutrients you want to add to your soil and some rocks and weeds you need to remove? Dig in and do it! Now is the time.

Sonja Wendt