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Quote of the Day: Cherokee Prayer

April 3rd, 2011

O Great Spirit, help me always…to remember the peace that may be found in silence.

Cherokee Prayer
The Wabi-Sabi House: The Japanese Art of Imperfect Beauty


Many people hate weeding. I actually enjoy the chore of weeding. I appreciate doing it because it lets my mind wander and most of all I appreciate the silence. I love silence, I never listen to music in the car, in the house. I hate having the TV on because of the noise it makes, I don’t like having the oven fan on because of the noise. I simply love silence, that’s probably why I love to garden.

Weeding is my time to meditate, my time to think, my time to solve problems. There’s something very therapudic for me about weeding.

Do you enjoy weeding? Where do you find silence?

18 Comments to “Quote of the Day: Cherokee Prayer”
  1. nic@nipitinthebud on April 3, 2011 at 5:01 am

    weeding definitely has its virtues. I love the feeling of kneeling down in the soil and pulling up weeds by hand (achy fingers this morning to show for it!).
    As for finding peace in other ways I love swimming and find it extremely meditative. It’s probably the only time I truly switch off as I have to really concentrate on my breathing to keep going (and make it worthwhile exercise time as well). I find it so amazing that it’s a real physical and sensory experience seeing other swimmers zipping up and down yet you can hear nothing but the sound of your own breath and splashes.

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  2. kristin @ going country on April 3, 2011 at 6:17 am

    Yeah, I’m very noise-averse, as well. Silence is sort of hard to find for me these days–kids do that, I guess. Early mornings, like now, are the only quiet time of the day because no one else is awake. Which is why I voluntarily get up at 5:30 in the morning.

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  3. Jennifer Fisk on April 3, 2011 at 6:51 am

    I used to hate weeding but then came chickens. Now I happily fill a 5 gallon bucket with weeds and dump them in the chicken enclosure. I get a kick out of watching them enjoy every morsel.
    The silence I enjoy the most is stepping out side in the late evening and not hearing a thing which is common here and more so during a snow storm.

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  4. Nebraska Dave on April 3, 2011 at 9:28 am

    Susy, quiet is something that’s a rare commodity in the urban city. There is always a dull roar of background traffic noise that soon isn’t heard at all by those that live there. Sirens from the fire stations, sirens from the police cars, dog barking, and kids playing are all the normal urban city sounds. Inside the house with a six year old there’s TV noise and computer game noise while he’s awake. In the rare times that I find a quiet time they are much enjoyed. My quietest memories were on my Uncle’s farm in my teen years. Far far away from all traffic noise and sirens, I could sit in the middle of a wheat field or corn field. I could hear the Meadow Lark’s chirp on the fence post or the dragon fly’s buzz as they flew by. I could hear the wind blowing through the wheat or corn make that gentle rubbing noise as the stalks rubbed against each other. As yes, it’s rare I find a place that is totally void of noise, but there are some noises that just seem to sooth my soul.

    Have a great soul soothing noise day.

    Reply to Nebraska Dave's comment

    • Susy on April 3, 2011 at 9:44 am

      I lived in Cincinnati for 5 years, so I completely understand the noise of a city, the sound of sirens is a constant, as is the hum of the highways. All that concrete bounces the sounds around and magnifies it.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  5. Lynda on April 3, 2011 at 11:32 am

    Well, I don’t like weeding…nope, not one bit. I get my silence with my bees. I have an old wicker rocking chair out in the bee yard…I can just sit and watch them for hours…just me and the bees.

    Reply to Lynda's comment

    • Susy on April 3, 2011 at 11:43 am

      Sounds heavenly!

      Reply to Susy's comment

  6. Michelle @ Give a Girl a Fig on April 3, 2011 at 11:51 am

    I don’t enjoy weeding..at all. But I do love silence…I will find myself getting so agitated only to realize someone left the bathroom fan running and that low droning drives me crazy! Silence…I don’t get it often…but when I do, I appreciate it. I think I might need to be more deliberate about it…

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  7. Daedre Craig on April 3, 2011 at 1:30 pm

    I enjoy weeding, but only after it has rained and the pulling is easier.

    Reply to Daedre Craig's comment

  8. Melissa on April 3, 2011 at 1:37 pm

    I love silence. My husband doesn’t understand how I can drive for hours with nothing on in the car.

    Reply to Melissa's comment

    • Susy on April 3, 2011 at 1:41 pm

      Yes – Mr Chiots is the same way, always listening to podcasts, music & books while he’s driving or working – I can’t handle it!

      Reply to Susy's comment

  9. KimH on April 3, 2011 at 2:54 pm

    It depends on the flow of my life at the moment if I enjoy weeding or not.. but I do remember a time when a girlfriend was coming over to help me weed my garden.. She brought her boombox with her.. Oh boy.. that did not last long.. I tried to be nice about it but I just couldnt stand it.. Im with you.. weeding was my meditation time and that boombox and chatty cathy didnt belong there..

    I love silence.. love love love it.. I wake up 1 1/2 hours before anyone else in the house so I can have silence..I meditate daily in that time period… I cant get enough..
    I used to live in the country so I had lots of silence around me except the sounds of nature, but the last almost 13 years I’ve lived in a house with many loud gregarious people with many other people around.. sigh.. Its tough at times… and not others..

    Today, silence has filled my day.. no sound but the tires on the hiway as I drove to & from church almost an hour each way this morning.. The guys are off doing their thing elsewhere.. and my house is blissfully slient!

    Thanks for that prayer.. & post.. I love it!!

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  10. Kathi on April 3, 2011 at 5:07 pm

    I live in town on a noisy street so I usually weed with my IPod playing. When I run however ,I never listen to music. It interferes with my free-flowing thoughts and any interesting birds I might hear.

    Reply to Kathi's comment

  11. Andrea on April 3, 2011 at 5:27 pm

    I love quiet as well. I spend most days home alone from 8-3 while family is at work and school. It’s my time to garden, clean, etc…
    I usually never have the tv on unless I’ve recorded something or it feels like a lazy movie day.
    The quiet makes me a better person for when I am around people :)

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  12. marcia on April 3, 2011 at 8:18 pm

    I could easily become a hermit. I can spend a whole weekend alone, not speaking to anyone and never feel lonely. If I don’t get enough silence, I can get mean. I feel imposed upon by the world and everyone in it. How can you hear your inner voice if it gets drowned out by everyone elses auditory presence? I can’t stand to wear earphones, it feels like the highest form of disrespect to my ears. I prefer to weed alone, in silence, sometimes humming softly, giggling aloud to a funny thought that might have popped up in my head. It’s slowing down but with a purpose and I always feel refreshed and have a great feeling of accomplishment after.

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  13. margaret on April 3, 2011 at 11:09 pm

    I like weeding in the spring but by the time summer arrives I’ve pretty much had it…too hot. But right now I find weeding quite blissful for all the same reasons. So far the weather out here on the Canadian West Coast has been very wet so weeding has been difficult but I’m out there every chance I get.

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  14. Sincerely, Emily on April 3, 2011 at 11:29 pm

    I definitely like silence, for the most part.I find I mostly have the tv on when I am in the kitchen working, I can do the kitchen stuff and “watch” a program I have taped at the same time or a dvd that comes in the mail. I have a hard time just sitting in from of the tv.Sometimes that tv noise is too much and silence is welcome. I don’t drive with the radio on like I used to when I was younger. As for weeding, I like weeding when it is cooler out, it in the summer months, not so fun, so I do it as early as I can or as late as I can with sunlight.I like listening to the birds and other sounds out there. Emily

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  15. Jenny on April 4, 2011 at 12:08 pm

    Silence is big in our house. Our friends find it odd that we don’t have music on all the time, and that we don’t wear earbuds when walking or skiing.

    I do not like to weed, silence or no silence!

    Reply to Jenny's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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