Murray - Living Life in Full Bloom

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2014 by Elizabeth Murray

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Photography by Elizabeth Murray, with the exception of:

Craig Lovell,

Art and illustration by Elizabeth Murray, with the exception of calligraphy, .

Book design by Carol Angstadt

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file with the publisher.

ISBN 9781623361204 hardcover

ISBN 9781623361211 ebook

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To the patient Gardeners in my life, who planted seeds, watered, weeded, and pruned and who opened paths that inspired me to be both cultivated and wild

To my mother, Patricia Catherine Kilkenny Murray, who instilled in me a love of Nature, gardens, imagination, and creativity and who encouraged me to follow my heart and deepen my belief in God, the Great Mystery that holds both the vast darkness and the illuminating light

To my uncle Father Frank Murray, a Catholic priest for more than 60 years and a loving and faithful Gardener of souls, who served with humbleness, humility, and good old Irish humor

To my uncle Fenton Kilkenny, who ignited a passion for exotic travel, passed along a gift for storytelling, and taught me to appreciate joy and diversity

And to Gerald Bol, who was a Full Bloomer

All around the world, a springtime of beauty and creativity is emerging from a long winter of dormancy. This new culture once again values the Earth, spirit, and compassion over the accumulation of possessions and the negativity that depletes the Earth and its soul. This shift in core values offers a more fulfilling and meaningful lifestyle to the individuals, couples, and families who are embracing their passions, living their dreams, and reweaving their communities with care and kindness. When social cooperation is scaled up, personal and global crises are transformed into opportunity. If we can get past anger, fear, pain, and poverty and allow old structures to decay, we inspire new and resilient systems to sprout and fruit in their place. Being mindful about the way we govern, what we teach, the food we eat, and the medical care we offer and receive means we can move toward social and environmental understanding and justice.

I have been on a lifelong journey of discovery and learning, touched by the beauty of Nature and the many altruistic individuals Ive met in my travels. The book you hold in your hands is my offering to youa bouquet of experiences and joy Ive lovingly gathered and arrangedto inspire you to learn, engage, and contribute in whatever way you can. When you live your life in Full Bloom, it is like falling in love all over again. You are filled with delight and a sense of direction. Life is good. Life has meaning. Your creativity is juicier. Youre in harmony with all of the world. Your awareness increases, your heart sings with gratitude, and you honor all living things. This is your invitation to bring more beauty, fun, and soulfulness into your life. It is my hope that you can awaken and cultivate compassion and direction for yourself, for your work, for Nature, and for your community. I want to inspire you to live life with your heart wide open.

I believe each of us has four distinct personality attributesthe Gardener, the Artist, the Lover, and the Spirit-Weaverthat create a framework for practicing mindfulness, unleashing potential, and revising a sense of play. As a Gardener, you observe, nurture, and grow. As an Artist, you use creativity to discover new possibilities. As a Lover, you lead with your heart and commit to things youre passionate about, and as a Spirit-Weaver, you use celebrations and rituals to express blessings and gratitude. It may be that youre not currently exploring these facets of your life. Still, you can begin to immerse yourself in the small, but powerful practices I offer to build interpersonal connections, define the purpose of your busy life, figure out who you really are, and unearth your passions and gifts so you can go forth, bloom, and spread seeds of goodness all around.

I have loved Nature since childhood, and very early on I discovered gardens to be sanctuaries where I could form intimate relationships with plants. The elderly ladies in my neighborhood caught me stealing their flowers, so they kindly invited me in and taught me how to garden. A woman named Ginger gave me my first Cecile Brunner climbing rose, and I planted it on my playhouse and grew my own baby pink roses for fairy crowns. At seventeen, I was an exchange student in a small village between Kyoto and Nara, Japan, where gardens were both sacred spaceconnecting my spirit to Natureand works of art. Just a year later, I left my hometown in northern California to live off the land in Maine, learning organic gardening from my mentors, Scott and Helen Nearing. I went on to teach it in college, where I trained as a naturalist with Audubon and earned a degree in environmental studies, with a minor in art. I taught children and teens in residential programs about Nature, always weaving together gardening, creativity, and the natural world.

When I first visited Monets gardens in Giverny, France, I fell completely and utterly in love. In 1985, I quit my job as a professional gardener with a crew of nine in Carmel, California, to work for free in Francespending the winter in Paris learning French and returning to Giverny in early spring, just as the gardens were coming out of dormancy. In the early mornings and late evenings, I photographed and wrote, day after day. I was following my own passions, and the path led me to a career as a professional photographer, artist, and writer. I return to Giverny every year to photograph the gardens for publications and exhibitions with Monets paintings, and each timejust as when I visit the Amazon rain forest of Ecuador or spend time in the gardens of close friendsmy intimacy with Nature deepens and expands. Nature is the teacher for my soul.