One Man's Garbage...

I learn a lot about the Elements when I am in my garden.  I have two trees in my yard - an Oak and a Maple.  Both are several decades old and drop a lot of leaves this time of year.  Raking has always seemed to me to be a rather boring repetitive task - you can rake almost every day and there is always more to do this time of year.

My feeling about the leaves has completely changed this year because of new compost bins in the back yard.  Now, I get excited when I see the yard I raked yesterday covered in leaves again.  The leaves are the "waste" of the tree - they have served their function, the tree no longer needs them, so they are shed.  But there is a lot of value in those leaves - wonderful organic matter and minerals.  In more natural settings, the leaves do serve to enrich the soil directly and provide energy for future growth - its only in the city that they are considered a nuisance.

One of the Organs associated with the Metal Element is the Large Intestine.  In thinking about the working of the Large Intestine - the most obvious function is the disposal of physical waste.  But it also cleans out Mental garbage - old thoughts or attachments that need to be let go of so that our world is not infused with negativity.  The Large Intestine clears out old gripes and grudges as well as sadnesses of the past.  When the Metal Element is out of balance in us, we tend to either hold onto that which should be let go of, or let go of everything, seeing value in nothing.  Life becomes filled with garbage, or totally empty.

In balance, we say goodbye appropriately, letting energy move around the cycle.  We also honor the value in all things - ourselves included.  The trees are great teachers of this - shedding leaves when they are finished with them, releasing all of the energy and valuable minerals in the leaves so that they may be used to fuel future growth.