Today I had lunch with a good friend, and we both bloomed as we shared the many positive dimensions of our lives, our work, our relationships, our vision for ourselves and the planet… It was so heartening to have the sense that each of our individual efforts were not “just a drop in the bucket”, rather part of a rivulet feeding into larger streams, building toward the tidal wave of The Great Turning.  The afterglow is as beautiful as the sunset out our window this evening!   

Then I cycled by the Farmers Market (located right in the thick of downtown Vancouver, how cool is that!) and picked up kale, thyme, oregano, tomato plants.  This evening, I tucked them all gently into our balcony planters, along with the strawberry plants a friend gave us yesterday, and the basil slips that have been growing on my windowsill.  My heart and cup runneth over.

Having gorgeous color, and growing some of our own food, besides getting us down and dirty and connecting us with the earth, is part of the resilience we will need, I believe, as the climate and the world changes in the coming years.  It’s exciting and heartening how this is taking off in many cities.  Have a look at this inspirational video put out by Be The Change Earth Alliance, on Urban Farming.  Wow! and Yeah!!  Go, urban farmers!

Apropos taking off, I’m getting ready to take off on another week long cycle with my daughter.  This time we are going to LaConner, San Juan, and Camano Island  Cross fingers for good weather and no flat tires!

Both gardening and cycling have brought me enormous pleasure along the way, and here’s something else that has as well.  Today is Lyman Frank Baum‘s birthday.  His book, The Wizard of Oz, and subsequent tales of the magical Emerald City and Land of Oz enchanted me as a child.  I was pleased to learn in today’s Writer’s Almanac that he was deeply concerned with equity and social justice.

He wrote: “There were no poor people in the land of Oz, because there was no such thing as money, and all property of every sort belonged to the Ruler. Each person was given freely by his neighbours whatever he required for his use, which is as much as anyone may reasonably desire. Every one worked half the time and played half the time, and the people enjoyed the work as much as they did the play, because it is good to be occupied and to have something to do.”

May May, with its showers and flowers, gardens and gardens and gifts, find you blossoming, and treasuring and savoring the blessings in your life.

Jill Schroder is the author of BECOMING: Journeying Toward Authenticity.  BECOMING is an invitation for self-reflection, and to mine our memorable moments for insights, meaning, andgrowth.  Check the website for a sample chapter, or see the reviews to get a flavor for the volume.  Follow me on Twitter, let’s be friends on Facebook