The Twelve Gifts from the Garden . Charlene Costanzo
or harm. You, the reader, are responsible for your own choices, actions, and results.
This book is not authorized by Sanibel Moorings and is not responsible for its content.
With love and gratitude
for my mother and grandmothers
and Mother Earth
Contents
Words of Nature, Nature of Words
Wildflower Wisdom
Here and There
Enduring Debby
First Time Alone
Black Swallowtail
From Holey to Holy
No-See-Ums
Down but Not Out
Dead but Not Done
Photo of the Day
Smiley
Joewood
Mistaken Identity
Sea Legs
Upside Down
Joie de Vivre
If I Had an Apple
Bird-Watching, Bee-Watching
Seeing the Light
Namaste, Jai Bhagwan
Dawn
Four-Leaf Clover
Turk’s Cap Mallow
Big Chair, Little Me
Angel’s Trumpet
Scrambled Eggs with a Side of Compassion
Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
Aging Like Brunfelsia
Holy Mystery
Talentry
Blessed
Post-Op
Mamey Sapote
Bella Hope
What My Toes Find
A Hundred Million Miracles
The Generosity of Trees
Never Say Never
Roots
Home Sweet Home
Forks in the Road
Epilogue
Do You See What I See?
A Tree Grows in Sedona
Gregg Buckthorn
Animal Wisdom
Afterword
For Reflection and Discussion
Acknowledgements
Beyond the Botanical Garden
Enter the Garden
About the Author
About the Illustrator
Readers are asked to imagine walking in the author’s sandals—or at least by her side—and perceiving the flowers, roots, leaves, and trees as she did, which was sometimes with whimsy, often with wonder, always with awe. She hopes that The Twelve Gifts from the Garden will give a measure of enrichment and empowerment to readers as they journey through life in their own shoes.
The Story behind the Twelve Gifts
One morning in 1987, when my daughters were teenagers nearing high school graduation, I woke with a shock. My children were about to leave home, the most critical years of their development were over, and I was just beginning to understand that unconditional love was the most important thing I could give them. With hindsight, I wished I had done some things differently.
Weeks later, once again I woke with strong emotion. This time it was a feeling of euphoria. In the sleep state, I had been in a place where I heard about twelve gifts. I remembered a few of them: Strength, Courage, Beauty, Compassion, Joy…and I recalled a repeated phrase: “May you… May you… May you…” with what felt like a bestowing of blessings. As I moved into wakefulness, the details of the dream evaporated. Holding onto wisps of it, I wrote a message and fashioned it into a booklet titled Welcome to the World: The Twelve Gifts of Birth. It was what I wished I had whispered in my babies’ ears and said often as they grew. It told them they were born with gifts. Gentle wishes suggested how to use each gift to live