Engage

May sidled up dragging promises of warmth, but bringing clouds and rain instead. 

Gardeners and would be diggers in the soil avidly look forward to planting and purchasing new plants. Yesterday afternoon we went to a garden shop or garden farm or nursery --whatever the proper name for those places that entice you with healthy looking greenery and flowers either popping or promising to add vibrant colors to your garden. 

The wealth of plants, bushes, ground covers, trees, bags of soil, fertilizers , pots, tools, bird houses and baths offer tantalizing possibilities to aficionados and overload to the uninitiated.This excess, engorgement, plethora, caused me to feel trapped within a green castle guarded by tickets spelling out the zone needed, watering conditions, soil necessities and directions for planting. How was I to dig a hole deep enough to accommodate the plant, and could I rely on my meager knowledge of nutrients needed to successful feed some behemoth green bush?

I expect some people feel the same way when entering a bookstore or library. What to read, how to decide? I love being surrounded by titles, covers, names I know and unknown authors enticing me with new titles. Instead of a ticket offering me directions, I check reviews to give me direction. I open a book and read the first sentence, first paragraph. Has the writer paid enough attention to craft, am I drawn into the book? 

I expect many people feel the same way when entering a place of worship. They wonder  about the order of service: when to stand, when to sit, when to respond? They may ask, "Am I a worshipper or an onlooker, or even a voyeur watching a drama?" No ticket, no reviews, just a bulletin draws the guest worshipper through the service.

The ticket remains only a preview of what is needed to grow a living plant, the review remains one person' opinion, and the bulletin merely serves as a guidepost to follow a service.

Who said, "Move beyond the fringes and engage." I think it's my embroidery on the lines writ by anyone who encounters the world.