Spreading Peace from the Ground Up

By: Douglas Carroll

When I retired from teaching in 2018, my goal was a “return to nature.”  You know, peace, love, flowers.  So, I left the hustle and bustle of the San Francisco Bay Area and moved to the peace and quiet of Humboldt County in Northern California, like countless hippies before me.

I wanted to grow vegetables in a garden but had close to zero experience.  My plan was to put some plants in the dirt and see what happens.  I got lucky and have had fairly lush gardens these past three years.  Humboldt is well-known for its organic farms and gardens.  The climate is ideal for cool weather crops like spinach and lettuce and other leafy greens.

Up until this year, I had only used starts obtained at the Arcata Farmers Market and other places.  I wanted to plant from seeds for this year’s garden but was clueless on the process.  Just before I googled “planting from seeds,” I got the email from Jodie about Seeds for Peace.  They had all the information on the procedure and supplies for germinating seeds.  Yay!  I was like a proud parent watching my little seedlings grow.  Later they all died because I started them too early.  But I learned how to do it and got a new batch going right away.

A healing connection develops between the gardener and the plant.  You nourish it and watch it grow.  Life unfolds before your very eyes.  The plants are so peaceful.  Not rambunctious like animals, plants are still and quiet.  And then I thought, that’s what I’m trying to do in my meditation practice—get still and quiet.  Heck, I’m trying to get more like a plant.  And then it occurred to me, what a good idea that was.

Seeds of Peace offered a lot more than just gardening information.  The whole group at Code Pink made Seeds for Peace an unforgettable presentation.  Some of the features:

• Philosophical perspectives of seeds and peace and healing were presented, like growing food as an act of love;
• Inspiring videos of activist/gardeners;
• A seed exchange;
• Sharing ideas on community gardens and community solidarity;
• The joy of talking through zoom to some avid gardeners during the protracted lockdown.

Seed of Peace—some real Flower Power!  Let’s keep it going.