LAS CRUCES - January may not be the best time for new
starts. If you’ve flubbed a resolution or two, were not as successful at giving
up things for Lent as you’d hoped or are ready for some new chances, how about
rebooting your self-improvement efforts right about now?
Spring is the right season to make changes, grow and learn.
We’ve all had a chance to adjust to the time change, the
weather is very nice most of the time and we have today to celebrate Easter and
its messages of miracles, resurrection and rebirth.
After a sluggish, eccentric winter, a killer early allergy
season and political campaigns that get stranger and stranger, I feel ready to
attempt to brighten the corner where I am and start improvements with the
person on whom I know I have the most influence: myself.
I’m not talking Mary Poppins (“practically perfect in every
way”) standards, but I think there are a number of reasonable goals within my
grasp and I am old enough to know there is wisdom, rather than shame, in
admitting what I don’t know and seeking assistance. There’s a lot of good
information out there, and more ways than in any time in recorded history to
reach out to institutions, websites and good people ready and willing to share
knowledge.
I was looking around my little semi-adobe abode and
remembering that gardening pro Jackye Meinecke once told me not to start my
outdoor planting until Easter. I decided I knew better one year, when we had a
long stretch of warm weather, and ended up with lots of dead, carefully
cultivated seedlings. This month, I’m looking around and wondering if it’s time
to give it another go.
Some of my neighbors and best friends have grown spectacular
gardens in Las Cruces, so I have proof that it can be done. Because I’ve
written about them, I also know there are many sources that can offer help,
from Doña Ana County Extension and Master Gardeners program to Mesilla Valley
Cooperative Market, which offers classes and tips for beginners.
This spring, I’ve decided I will venture beyond my usual,
tried-and-true geraniums and lobelia in the same old flower pots. I’ve already
got some new pots, some roll-out, pre-seeded flower carpets I’ve been wanting
to try, and I may even plant some herbs and veggies and consider the wild
frontiers beyond container gardening.
I’m going to finally read the instruction manual on my
no-longer-so-new camera, and actually check out the instructional website our
nice IT guy Jose Ortiz recommended after he graciously set up my new iPhone.
If I don’t understand something, I am going to ask more
questions. You are only a stupid old luddite when you decline opportunities to
learn more, I’ve decided.
I’m going to tackle new forms of art and investigate yet
more tweaks in my diet and exercise plan.
And I’m going to think about the advice of elders who have
been telling me for decades that there are many things you can actually get
better at, the older you get. Their examples include things like golf, ceramic
arts, and many forms of music. My experience has shown there are many “sure
things” to add to this list, like compassion, hope, charity, love, humor and patience.
And in recognition of the extraordinary soul whose life, words
and deeds we honor today, it’s always a good time to grow and cultivate one’s
soul, one’s love and understanding and find new ways to help and heal ourselves
and our fellow humans.
May we all enjoy an inspirational and joyous Easter and a
spring in which to ponder ways to cultivate and grow our gardens, our lives and
our souls.
S. Derrickson Moore may be
reached at 575-5450, dmoore@lcsun-news.com or @derricksonmoore on Twitter.
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