The Teachings of Swiss Chard

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Swiss chard recently taught me something amazing … about itself and about life. For years, our chard plants have been overcome annually by brown patches (evidence of leaf-miners) that grew translucent and spread, crumpling them into a sad, brown mass. I almost stopped growing Swiss chard altogether.

But this year, I discovered — quite by accident — that if I harvested and ate the leaves that were lightly affected, while disposing of those that were heavily affected, the plant would thrive, producing countless more beautiful, healthy leaves.

The reminder is one I cherish. If a discordant pattern of thoughts arise, I can address it immediately. To “discard,” or let go of a thought, I attend to my feelings around it fully, without adding judgment or heaping on more thoughts, to allow the energy to safely pass through my body and my being.

Then there will be shadows of thoughts, tugging at the edge of my consciousness. Like lightly spotted leaves, they remind me to focus on what serves. As I redirect myself to joyful thoughts, these “spotted”thoughts contribute to my nourishment as the lightly spotted plants prompt me to harvest and eat them, stimulating healthy growth all around.

Looking to our natural world for cues, we can deepen our practice of joy. By embracing that which at first appears to be disease, we deepen our awareness of and focus on that which is whole and thriving within us and in the world around us.

Photo above: Foreground — an armload of chard lightly spotted, discarded leaves in the pathway and what the rest of the chard is thriving in the bed beyond.