Our most intimate secrets are revealed. What we throw away, reject, have no use for, no longer need or want, is a mirror of ourselves.

And yet , it is “natural”, to excrete, expel, reject : the body, all bodies do this in order to live, to survive, to continue to be..

There is  a world of difference between this natural process of expulsion and the rubbish of excess. The difference lies in the attention we give to the details of our daily life, 

We are tired. We have had too much. Too many gifts spoil the child. We have to learn again to appreciate life’s most precious gifts: the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food and shelter that we have, laughter and the opportunity to share joy and sorrow, an appreciation of beauty, to take what we need – no more and no less. To think with care and attention about what we truly need. To respect and care for the world in which we live: to value all of life and to understand that EVERYTHING is connected.

We must all be mothers and gardeners, caring for the soil in which our future will grow.

Rea Stavropoulos  Florence 11 July 2008

•