Editors Note: Another guest post from Angela Williams to The Prepper Journal. Make note that Round 12 of the Prepper Writing Contest will be posted next week. A great article to absorb during the madness that is “the holiday season.” We as Preppers understand the physical benefits of our self-sustained food production, but the benefits go far beyond just that. As always, if you have information for Preppers that you would like to share and possibly receive a $25 cash award as well as be entered into the Prepper Writing Contest with a chance to win one of three Amazon Gift Cards with the top prize being a $300 card to purchase your own prepping supplies, enter today!
Ask around. You will never find anyone who does not long to live a better life. However, living such a life depends much on the conscious decisions you make. Some people may argue that something they consider as simple and mundane as gardening cannot have any significant effect on an individual’s personal growth. Nothing could be further from the truth. Gardening has everything to do with your personal growth.
The question then is “how does gardening impact your personal growth?” My answer, “in more than one way, gardening has proved to be an active and necessary ingredient in personal growth.” Here are some unique ways in which gardening can make your life better.
Healthier Environment
All over the world, there are calls to “go green”. Gardening allows you to create a micro-climate at and in your home. Why? Because the plants you grow in your garden absorb carbon dioxide and other pollutants from the atmosphere. In turn, such garden plants give out clean oxygen that will revitalize your systems for optimal physical and mental performance. Furthermore, garden plants (as they all “flower”) give off marvelous fragrances that negate some of the terrible smell from man’s and beasts activities. The plants also hold the garden soil together in place and thus reduce soil erosion. Who hates living in a “perfect” environment?
Gardening Heals Naturally
Can one have any appreciable personal growth or derive joy if you are sick or suffering from the smell’s of an industrial world? I think you cannot. Gardening will heal you naturally. The process of preparing your garden, planting, caring for your young plants and harvesting when ready all require physical activity.
Such movements helps reduce obesity from a sedimentary lifestyle; lower your blood pressure and can improve cardiovascular activity. Physical activity also improves blood sugar metabolism, reduces stress, eases muscle tension and lowers bad fat (cholesterol).
There is no denying that the very sight of an arrays of colors (from different flowering plants), greenness and freshness of the atmosphere invoke the feeling of tranquility, peace, and happiness in your mental faculties. In other words, you can live with a somewhat reckless abandon knowing that you have the best of nature on your side to heal common physical and mental problems you might face.
A Sense of Responsibility and Self-Satisfaction
For home gardening to succeed, you must give your plants your personal touch and attention. Having the chance to observe your garden fruits and vegetables grow gradually from seedlings to a mature, fruit-bearing plant will give you a great sense of self-satisfaction. You will love being part of the natural process of procreation or regeneration.
Furthermore, personally tending to your garden and plants (digging, planting, watering, fertilizing, weeding and harvesting) will create in you a sentimental attachment and thus a greater sense of responsibility. Such sense of responsibility and self-satisfaction will add immensely to your personal growth with a direct influence on your day-to-day social interactions.
Financial Reprieve and Self-Sufficiency
The cost of foodstuffs has skyrocketed lately placing many homeowners in awkward positions of having to part with a lot of money to pay for groceries. Growing seasonal fruits and vegetables can guarantee you enough food throughout the year. This will tremendously reduce your trips to the grocery store and save you money.
In the end, you will enjoy fruits and vegetable fresh from the garden when you want it, however, you want it. Since most home gardening enthusiasts choose organic methods to grow their plants, the resultant harvest is as healthy as it could go. Such fruits and vegetables will not have dangerous pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides. You will live a self-sufficient life and this will greatly improve your personal growth.
Instills Good Virtues in a Family
Everyone dream of raising a cohesive, loving and happy family. Having such a family is definitely part of personal growth. Gardening is one of those hobbies or activities that all family members can participate in regardless of their ages or gender. The patience and attention it takes to tend to a garden make us all nurtures regardless of our age, gender or societal origins. Even those with mental issues always enjoy gardening and this can boost their self-esteem and improve the quality of their lives. If we can nurture a garden then we can develop even better virtues to live in perfect harmony within our homes.
Helps Further Education and Career
Gardening has this special ability to stimulate new interests in people. Even those who have never had anything to do with horticulture, nutrition, landscaping, and marketing can be stimulated to develop an interest in any or all of these fields. For instance, if you want to grow watermelon yet you have no idea as to how to prepare the garden, plant, care for and even harvest the resultant fruits, it will require you to carry out a little research.
In the process, you will likely learn new things that might stimulate your interest to venture further into the zen activity of horticulture. Some garden plants are so beautiful that you can use them to create a picturesque landscape in your home. This may kindle your interest in landscaping. Successful gardening may not only educate your children but influence their performance in school and lead them to consider a wider range of career choices.
Fosters Social Cohesion through Group Gardening
Personal growth does not just revolve around you. It also has a lot to do with how you interact with others in the community. Such interaction will help you develop a healthy relationship with your neighbors, friends, and colleagues. This will have a direct influence on your personal growth. The best way to foster such social cohesion is to get involved with others in group gardening, local landscaping improvements, participation in your HOA’s landscaping decisions, etc.
You can also seize the opportunity in sessions with a gardening group to share your pains, concerns, enjoyment and successes, as well as failures. After the harvest, the group members often share the outcome among themselves, great for bonding with neighbors and the community.
Final Verdict
There you have it. Those are the 7 ways in which gardening impacts your personal growth. If you want to love a long, healthy life with near perfect physical and mental health, the best way to go is to start a garden. The benefit of a home garden is that it does not require a lot in terms of space, effort, and money to execute but it has lots of health and financial benefits. In case you have never tried home gardening before then you will now know what you have been missing.