"Don't just do something. Stand there!"

No, you didn't read the title wrong.  I read this quote, an old New Yorker's mantra, and thought about what it really meant.  It was written in a New York Times article that caught my eye about gardening in Philadelphia (for obvious reasons...) and describes a Mount Airy resident's philosophy on gardening, and life.  To let it grow, and be, challenging our cultural emphasis on 'doing' and being active.  The gardener's philosophy grew out of time she spent in India, where she was taught a different way to approach life.  As she points out, “How many times has somebody gotten married, and you just can’t go because of too much work or something?” she asked. “They don’t miss these things. The whole place stops. I feel like we just don’t stop enough.”
Practicing the art of stopping is difficult for us Americans to do.  I remember traveling to Italy as a college student (on one of the sweetest babysitting gigs of all times) and learning about their approach to work and life balance.  What is it about us Americans that we are so obsessed with doing, producing, earning, accumulating stuff?  Why can't we just stand here, just be present to the moments of our life, and maybe even watch the garden grow around us instead of dictating the exact shape of the garden, which species will be included, diligently watering and weeding as we go?  (this is reminding me I better go water my tomato and pepper plants in the midst of this heatwave... wait, just BE!)
All of this 'being' sounds great to me, but might not be the most practical at the moment.  Ryan and I are moving... again... in a week.  We just found out officially last night that we got this great condo in Phoenixville, PA.  It's a transplant of our current neighborhood in a little more suburban/green setting.  Meaning, we are still walking distance to a main street with shops, restaurants and bars, as well as a path along a canal for walking and running (hopefully the back will be up for that again soon).  But instead of being a city setting, there is actually parking (YAY) and lots of trees (breathe in the oxygen) and modern conveniences (central air, dishwasher, etc).  So, though I'd like to stand here, and not just do something...  I better get packing.  There is a house that needs some attention here.