Page 24 - 2013 LDN Home Improvement Magazine

2013 HOME IMPROVEMENT MAGAZINE. LINCOLN DAILY NEWS.com May 1, 2013
24
Finding Zen in the home or in the garden
Are you likemost people today, making
lists of things to do, and the list never
seems completed before the next list
is started? Day in, day out, there never seem
to be enough hours in the day to do everything
you think needs doing.
Too much to do and
not enough time for
relaxation seems to be
a number one complaint
in the lives of nearly all
of us today, and stress
the number one ailment.
Last year, when we
presented our spring
home improvement
special section,
Sherwin-Williams was
featured. At Sherwin-Williams they had just
rolled out a new wallpaper group that featured
various natural grasses in textured papers. The
patterns were designed to bring the harmony of
nature into your indoor environment.
The demand for relaxing interiors remains in
high demand. Interior designers understand the
use of natural elements or their resemblance in
the home and how it soothes our souls.
Maybe you’ve been to the beach, or as a child
at the sandbox, and caught yourself picking
up warm sand and letting it run through your
fingers. It was so relaxing.
The pursuit of Zen has become a popular
concept. The tenets of Zen Buddhism began
in China in 1004 C.E. Then and there, monks
began arranging pebbles and rocks in a garden
to represent flowing
water. Sand is often
used today and raked
into gentle waves or
complex patterns.
The simplicity of the
Zen garden is intended
to create an environment
where one can clear the
mind and find peace
within.
You can find a Zen
garden today at any major botanic garden. The
botanical gardens in St. Louis and Chicago both
have large displays in their extensive Japanese
garden areas.
But more important, these simple gardens that
cultivate harmony are now more commonly
being used inside and outside homes. You can
easily make either an indoor or outdoor garden
yourself.
Indoors, the garden can be made small enough
to place on a desktop. Start by deciding what
space you will use. Then make or purchase a
frame from wood. Cut Plexiglas or plywood
for the bottom, and glue or nail the frame to it.
Fill it with sand. Place a few rocks sparingly.
Now rake the sand into designs or long, wavy
patterns; a small sandbox rake works well for
this.
You can even buy a small garden fully
equipped with a frame, sand, rocks and a little
rake for as little as $6.95. Just Google “Zen