Simple Mindful Living -- here's an upcoming workshop to explore a happier, healthier way

Your New Year’s resolutions might call up a commitment to more dieting or exercise, or some other singular change of habits.  But you might consider starting 2017 with a something that goes further and deeper... a new focus on Simple Mindful Living.
 
Garden member, Andrew Rock, asked us to invite our newsletter subscribers to a workshop he’ll be leading to teach you ways to get there.  His program will explore how we can simplify our lives to be happier, healthier and to have a more sustainable world. Together participants will discuss the relationship between mindfulness and simple living including:

• Examine how our values manifest in the way we live.
• Consider ways and opportunities to make our lives simpler, happier and more sustainable.
• Ask ourselves: "What do we really need?" and "How much is enough?"

The Simple Mindful Living workshop takes place Saturday January 7 beginning at 9:30 am at the FCM Practice Center, 6501 N. Nebraska Ave. Learn more about FCM and register online by clicking here.

(More about Andrew: He has been a member of FCM since 2004 and the Order of Interbeing since 2011, and has led previous workshops for FCM’s Mindfulness Institute on mindful consumption, engaged Buddhism and mindfulness for activists.  He is also a founder of the Tampa Bay Buddhist Climate Action Network.)

The Coalition of Community Gardens next quarterly meeting is Thursday, January 19th at the Mustard Seed Garden at Tims Memorial Presbyterian Church, 601 Sunset Lane, Lutz, 33549. 4:30 - 6:00 pm   

Here’s the text of the latest email from the Coalition’s Kitty Wallace, with meeting details and more.  Hope you can make the date!

We had a great meeting at Plant City Commons Community Garden in October, met several of their gardeners, and toured their wonderful garden.  Thanks, Karen!  We also welcomed the Vista Gardens members, Jen and Barb.  

Proposed agenda: 

• Tour the Mustard Seed Garden; share info about our gardens; Q & A re gardening.
• Plan garden tours in April....It would be most helpful if each of us could meet with our board/planning teams prior to this meeting....and determine a date in April, best case scenario to coincide with Earth Day, that we can ALL hold an event or an open house in our gardens area-wide....it looks like we have some marketing people on board this year and can actually make a fair media splash about this.  So bring that information with you or share via email so we can come away from this meeting with a PLAN.  

Re: the Healthiest Cities-Counties Challenge Grant: We have had one general meeting with the partner agencies of the grant.  Data on statistics regarding food deserts, current community gardens, as well as health-related statistics are being gathered. And we (the coalition members) are putting together a "Starting a community garden tool kit."  

The goal of this grant is to develop a model of networking and use the model to establish at least 3 community gardens in food desert areas in Tampa/Hillsborough.  (The USDA defines what's considered a food desert: at least 500 people and/or at least 33 percent of the census tract's population must reside more than one mile from a supermarket or large grocery store (for rural census tracts, the distance is more than 10 miles).  

Please reply to this email regarding your attendance....Ardell and Renee at Mustard Seed Garden would appreciate getting a head count at some point (RSVP to Colleen at info.shcg@gmail.com).  All are welcome and encouraged to attend and to bring other gardeners from your group. Best wishes for a happy, healthy 2017!  Kitty

Lend us a hand, make some friends*, and help our garden grow every Saturday morning, 9:00 am to noon.

Planting, weeding, watering, harvesting, and tending the compost and the garden worms... these are a few of the regular tasks essential to our ever-bountiful community garden.

We gather for a few hours every Saturday morning, pitching in together to keep it going and keep things growing.  So please join us if you can this weekend.  

Sunscreen and garden hats are recommended, and bring some water to stay hydrated.  

We look forward to seeing you!

All the best,
Your friends from Seminole Heights Community Gardens
www.seminoleheightscommunitygarden.org 
 

*Like these people!  
This photo taken at our December 19 Holiday gathering at Colleen's home.
 
(Colleen is standing on the far left, wearing the gray top in case you haven't yet met her. And Simple Mindful Living instructor, Andrew Rock, is seated front and center in the plaid shirt.)