Do you believe that we're all connected via collective subconsciousness? A few days ago, I called Mom to confess that this year, I feel an intuitive call to give gardening a rest, or at least a significant scale down after 5 consecutive years of non-stop, diligent productivity. Despite 5 years of abundant harvests, the land has also given me subtle signs that it's time to pause. 

One of the clearest signals the land gave me is that none of the tomato, tomatillos, squash, or bean seeds that I threw in the ground last year came up this year. They always came up. That tells me the land does not want to produce fruits this year and I can't force her to.

I also revealed to her that, strangely, all of the seasoned gardeners that I've talked to in my neighborhood have felt the same intuitive nudge, and are planning to take it easy this year.

Coincidence? Perhaps not. "Well of course! It's the Jubilee Year. You're supposed to rest," Mom reassured me with a piece of information that I was completely oblivious to before this day. But it could explain a lot.

If you don't know, The Jubilee Year in Catholic and Jewish traditions is designated every 25 or 50 years (depending on the religion), and is supposed to be a year of rest and renewal, liberation and restoration, and reflection and repentance. "While the original Jubilee in ancient Israel involved the land resting from cultivation, the Catholic Church's Jubilee is not a literal cessation of work. It's a call to reorient one's life and priorities, allowing for a period of spiritual reflection and renewal." And 2025 is the Jubilee Year observed by the Catholic Church.

Now, I'm not a religious person, but as a person of Buddhist-leaning faith, I do believe that we're all connected via a web of collective subconsciousness - a weaved tapestry of spiritual neurons, if you will. And I do believe that all religions are just different interpretations of the same universal phenomena.

So I wasn't surprised at all by this revelation that a collective of us instinctively felt the nudge to give the land a rest in this Jubilee Year, without even understanding the logical reasoning behind our decisions. Even the pecan trees, through their own interconnected communications, know to withhold pecans when the squirrel populations have reached saturation and need to be starved out for a couple of years.

We're all just part of Mother Nature, and I believe the sooner we embrace her ebbs and flows instead of fighting against her will, the more aligned our lives will be.

As for me, I plan to embrace this rest year of Jubilee by sowing some nitrogen-replenishing ground covers over the soil, maybe just save one garden box for some low-maintenance leafy greens, and live off of whatever edible volunteers that come up in the garden.

Coincidentally for me, last year was one of my most abundant harvests, which allowed me to dehydrate at least a year's worth of veggies. And this year, the volunteer Lamb's Quarter (aka Wild Spinach) are spreading prolifically. It's as if...Mother Nature was preparing me for a year of rest all along.