People say “Did you do all this?!”
I cannot say that I did. I cannot say that I did not.
I do take pride in my shovel
and the person who invented the shovel
manufactured the shovel
delivered the shovel.
I take pride in human creativity, resilience, strength.
I take pride in the air, the soil, the water, the seeds, the plants.
Proud is a funny word. It indicates ego. Ego indicates self.
Gardening, shoveling, these are selfless acts.
I hold the shovel. The shovel digs.
I plant the seeds. The seeds germinate.
I water the seeds with water that is not “mine”.
The plants grow.
I shovel, weed, nurture, love, and deeply honor that of which I can only be one little part, one little, vital, interconnected part. Pride has very little to with it. Other than to say, I am proud of the shovel.
