Therapy

I can not under estimate the therapeutic value of sticking your hands into the earth, planting things and watching them grow. However stiff and sore I end up after a digging session, the actual act of digging stretches out long underused muscles and provides an all round good workout for body and mind.

If I am at the allotment on my own I can get in to an almost meditative state or use the time to mull over those things that have been niggling at me - I can take out any aggression that arises on those stubborn lumps of couch grass.

The last few weeks I have been really troubled by some significant pain in my left foot and my lumbar spine, but I have made myself continue with the work on the allotment. I am really glad that I have done so. It would be all too easy to stay at home wilting on the sofa with a "woe is me, I can't do that" attitude, but getting out there and getting lost in the myriad of tasks facing me makes me forget the pain and it is not until I start hobbling back home that I notice it again.

I honestly believe that getting the allotment is the best thing I have done in ages. It touches me on practical, political and spiritual levels.