“Garden Meditation” is a thoughtful and poetic gardening meditation by Rev. Max Coots, a Unitarian Universalist minister who served the Canton, NY church for 34 years. This gardening meditation uses the metaphor of a garden to express gratitude for the diverse and nourishing friendships that enrich our lives.
The gardening meditation begins by giving thanks for “a bounty of people,” particularly children, who are likened to a “second planting.” Coots acknowledges that while children may grow quickly and leave the nest, they remain connected to their roots. This sentiment sets the tone for the rest of the meditation, which explores the various types of friendships we encounter throughout our lives.
As the gardening meditation unfolds, Coots describes friends using vivid comparisons to plants and vegetables. He expresses gratitude for generous friends with hearts and smiles as bright as blossoms, feisty friends as tart as apples, and continuous friends who, like scallions and cucumbers, remind us of their constant presence. The meditation also appreciates crotchety friends, as indestructible as rhubarb, and handsome friends, as elegant as a row of corn.
The gardening meditation continues by recognizing funny friends, as silly as Brussels sprouts and as amusing as Jerusalem artichokes, and serious friends, as unpretentious as cabbages and as persistent as parsley. Coots also acknowledges the value of old friends, who nod like sunflowers in the eveningtime, and young friends, who come on as fast as radishes. This diverse array of friendships, as described in the meditation, highlights the richness and beauty of human connections.
Perhaps the most touching aspect of this gardening meditation is the gratitude expressed for loving friends, who wind around us like tendrils and hold us despite our imperfections. Coots also remembers friends who have passed away, likening them to gardens that have been harvested but have nourished us in their time, enabling us to carry on.
Garden Meditation
By Rev. Max Coots
Let us give thanks for a bounty of people.
For children who are our second planting, and though they
grow like weeds and the wind too soon blows them away, may
they forgive us our cultivation and fondly remember where
their roots are.
Let us give thanks;
For generous friends . . . with hearts . . . and smiles as bright as
their blossoms;
For feisty friends, as tart as apples;
For continuous friends, who like scallions and cucumbers, keep
reminding us that we’ve had them;
For crotchety friends, sour as rhubarb and as indestructible;
For handsome friends, who are as gorgeous as eggplants
and as elegant as a row of corn, and the others, as plain as potatoes and so good for you;
For funny friends, who are as silly as Brussels sprouts and as
amusing as Jerusalem artichokes;
And serious friends as unpretentious as cabbages, as subtle as
summer squash, as persistent as parsley, as delightful as dill, as
endless as zucchini, and who, like parsnips, can be counted on to
see you through the winter;
For old friends, nodding like sunflowers in the eveningtime and
young friends coming on as fast as radishes;
For loving friends, who wind around us like tendrils and hold
us, despite our blights, wilts, and witherings;
And finally, for those friends now gone, like gardens past that
have been harvested, but who fed us in their times that we
might have life thereafter.
For all these, we give thanks.
By Rev. Max Coots, published originally in 1990, in GreenPrints Issue #1.
Rev. Max Coots’ “Garden Meditation” is a heartfelt and poignant gardening meditation that encourages readers to reflect on the many friendships that have shaped their lives. By using the metaphor of a garden, this gardening meditation celebrates the diversity, resilience, and nourishing qualities of human connections, reminding us to be grateful for the people who have touched our lives in countless ways.
Rev. Coots passed away in 2009. He was minister of the Canton, NY Unitarian Universalist Church for 34 years. He was “an inveterate punster, a poetic preacher, wise counselor, and general church handyman.” A visitor to the church once mistook him for the church custodian and was surprised to find him in the pulpit when she attended services the next Sunday. This article was published originally in 1990, in GreenPrints Issue #001.
thank you for sharing