In the name of Allah Most gracious, Most merciful
Whenever we start a new workshop series, a 5-month
course or a yearlong certificate we spend time getting to know the participants
and for them to get to know us and each other, (if they were meeting for the
first time) taking our time so everyone gets comfortable. Then we negotiate
rules of engagement.
The last round of introductions with a
group of youth went something like this:
Please spend a
few minutes chatting to your buzz partners and then introduce one another in
the following way: Introduce
your partner; an adjective that describes her/him; what are your partner’s
goals are for this year and something about him/herself that was shared with
you and can be shared in this forum.
As time was
up I said Abubakr and I would go cold turkey and
introduce one another. Abubakr’s eyes said it all, round and wide and surprised
but with confidence he starts out to say that I am his wife Yasmine (last time
some students asked us where our respective partners were because they were
worried that there was a vibe between us Abubakr Shabudien and Yasmine Jacobs –
huge guffaws). That I am spritely (huh?), that my goal is to have us eat all of
our vegetables solely from the garden and that I adore my grandson Mikaeel. I,
in turn said that an adjective describing him would be astute or witty, his
goal for this year could be or should be to get a car that we can all fit into and
drive far up country and that he has sketched a hundred Madibas and sold a few
in Washington. It was easier after that for the rest to start.
The fact of
the matter is that when you teach something you must try to live up to it – so
I interrogated myself about my goals for this year as I over-emphasise that
niyyah (intention) and maqsad (objective) is what we need to put into place and
realise and then the learning will be manageable and even enjoyable. So with
the grace of Allah SWT, hoping they are smarter these are my gardening goals
for this year:
- to be able to get all of our food from the garden, albeit seasonal.
- to share this knowledge with as many people as we can
- to be self-sufficient in terms of our own seed/seedlings and compost
- to have success with the following crops: garlic, potatoes, granadillas and olives
- to learn to make cheese, pasta from scratch, croissants and phyllo pastry.
I know that all of my goals may not be
realised for different reasons but hey, a girl’s got to set some goals. We
should also realize that we can set goals but there is no certainty that those
goals will be realized without the permission of the Almighty. The thing about
goals is that it serves as reminders to ourselves of where we should be heading
– to our ultimate goal. It may different
things for different people but for myself my ultimate goal is to refine my
relationship and bond with my Creator and for my Lord to be pleased with me now
and in the Hereafter. Having said that, every year I set out goals to make that
goal and an action plan to temper myself and my nafs (ego). And to realize such
a goal, one breaks it up into bite size pieces.
Over the years I have always set myself
goals of new culinary dishes and desserts and ended up putting them together in
a recipe book (it’s still being tested and edited). I have an overall goal to
be fit, so I walk more and more briskly. I open and close the heavy gate and
walk around the property many many times a day and aspire towards attending Tai
Chi class again and finding a pool close by.
For me to realize the organic gardens to
its full potential I have to continue to learn, to exchange, to read to discuss
and to experiment. For example, to realize my goal for the potatoes, that are not
planted in tyres or in bags but a crop in ditches in the soil, I developed my
own seed potatoes and researched the best possible methods. I also need to
remember that some goals need to be flexible or should I say smarter. We need
the space for the strawberries so I will plant potatoes in the two baths
instead.
So even if we are nearly in the middle of
the year set yourself some goals; put it on the fridge, on the mirror, on your
pc, on your phone to remind yourself. You will certainly be more focused and
not sweat the small stuff.
But how does one know that the garden is
complete or as complete as it can get for the season?
When sparrows fly low over ones head at
dusk; a lizard suns itself on the warm path; seeds abundantly germinate; beans
and peas reach out their tendrils to climb up the fence and the bees, bugs and
butterflies flutter from flower to flower, and of course when children can have fun in the garden. It is that absolute space where
nature and human endeavor meet to co-exist in order to create harmonious living
whereby we can all benefit.
Stay in the mercy of Allah and plant trees.
And set some goals.
Yasmine
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