I wanted to write a blog post about how voting for Obama isn’t about being a Democrat or a Republican.  It isn’t about labels.  It’s about heart and hope and honesty.   I wanted to write a post about how McCain doesn’t even represent anything anymore, how his campaign ideals are identical to the Bush Administration, and how voting for McCain is voting out of fear.

But I’m just not there today. 

Sure, it bothers me that in 30-some days, a LOT of people are going to ignore the fact that McCain lies a lot, just like the previous administration.   Sure, it upsets me to watch the messages get jumbled and spun, mixed and muddled.  And I watch the Dow plummet while people are losing home, jobs, savings…and I am torn between thinking that Americans’ sense of entitlement has led us here, and feeling horribly sorry to watch people’s dreams crash against the rocks of corporate negligence.

It’s autumn, and that leads me towards my cyclical patterns.  I’ve been trying to avoid it - pushing activity through external focus as much as I can.  But in many ways, I think people like myself are very tied to the seasons, very connected with processing according to nature.  Summer is a time of activity, of growth, and at the end, of harvest.  Fall begins to focus on family, on turning inward to one’s own home, one’s inner sanctum. 

Now is the time to review the past year, like a garden, and make note of what did well in my soil, and what didn’t do so well. 

Does that mean I plant different things, or does that mean I change the soil?  Time to evaluate successes and what could have been more successful.  Time to look at my garden and see what needs to be trimmed back, and what needs to be bolstered for a better year next year.

This year, early on, I realized that the soil was not suitable - I couldn’t successfully grow anything I put my effort into because the roots couldn’t form fully.  So I reconditioned the soil and planted some hopeful seeds.  I finally felt like myself again.  It is amazing what a difference that makes when you change your environment to be healthier - everything else just takes off.  The hardest to grow suddenly flower easily, as well the weeds. 

I had plenty of both.  Distracted enough by working the soil, I was also learning about what really mattered in my garden, what would grow best and provide the most nourishing fruit.  I focused on this, and many little weeds were able to infiltrate my processes and crowd my brain.  I was able to ignore them for a while, concentrating all my energy and resources towards promoting the growth of the best fruits. 

But now, I’m finding that I’m unable to enjoy the best fruits as much as I would like because the weeds are too distracting. Little things I let go for too long have rooted and are harder to pull out.  I’m finding I wasted a lot of space with these weeds, inadvertently stunting the growth of the plants I really wanted to grow.  That caused this harvest to be fulfilling, but not meeting expectations.

So while I feel I made some good choices for my garden’s main plants, I will in the future need to be more attentive to the small things that crowded up the remaining space.  Next year, I will focus my energy and resources in the same direction, but with an eye to keeping the weeds and smaller items in check.  This will allow more space for the chosen plants to flourish, so I may realize the harvest I’m seeking. 

So, tell me - how did your garden grow this year?