Season’s Greetings

Season’s greetings!

What is this season? A time of turning…turning toward snow boots and scrapers and bundling up to scrape snow off the solar panels and help Udgar mount the plow. The smell of wood smoke nurtures my sense of gratitude for our Rocky Mountain home and the outdoor life we get to live. This too is a time of turning inward to abide more and rest. I so look forward to this time of year, and now it is here!

Our endlessly long Indian summer brought worry again as the dryness signals a change of climate. Everyone is watching the weather for moisture these days. Our first snow brought a sense of relief among the locals here in Pagosa Springs and a spirit of celebration knowing Wolf Creek has snow for the skiers and the trees and land have much needed moisture. I heard that Purgatory near Durango “got a whole foot!” In our region that means “Yay, we are regaining some normalcy” as two ski towns.

The coziness of living warm inside and the feeling that it is time to abide connects me with a more essential level of appreciation for life. This season reminds me that as we build on what we learned THIS year while continuing to create Growing Spaces with our team, there is personal meaning for us all. Udgar and I have traveled in 2014 for family and for the business. Each return to our forests has been like a return to the contemplative life that balances all activity. I have such gratitude for the privilege of growing both inwardly and outwardly.

Many of the challenges we see in our society give us a greater momentum towards offering what we do. For example, there is a sense of sanctuary in gardening in the protected indoor garden of a Growing Dome. The lessons to be learned there are stated well by Dena Merriam, in The Message in a Seed:

“There is a difference between farmers who concentrate only on the technical aspects of growing food, and those who discern the beauty inherent in the process. The latter are more likely to experience appreciation and gratitude for what nature has offered. Attitude is a key factor in the success of any endeavor and agriculture is no exception. The farmer’s perceptions of the environment, soil and crops will affect the quality of the yield. Over Time, as one develops a new relationship with plants and crops and the natural forces that sustain them, an attitude of gratefulness blossoms of itself.”

As I think about the close of this year’s journey and assess the horizon I am filled with the need to say “Thank you!” Thank you to our customers, our followers on Facebook, our team and all the wonderful vendors we have worked with for so many years. The rhythm of our lives is sustained by relationships. This is the season to celebrate them all. May your Holidays be blessed by the peace and abiding that is possible as we remember what matters most in our individual lives.

Blessings!

Puja Dhyan & Udgar Parsons