Life in Experiment Mode

My experimental garden

What if your next few weeks had less pressure—and were more about curiosity?

Malama Life on YouTube had a video on this topic which offered me a refreshing perspective and it's led me to framing my tasks and daily activities as experiments.

This thought-shift has moved my mind away from stressing about everything working out and toward valuing how life develops. Outcomes are simply data to inform my next steps and this mindset has brought me more peace, curiosity, and growth!

Personally, I've been puttering with two raised garden beds a lot lately. I find myself sometimes stressing and feeling pressure for great results, but the truth I keep coming back to is that this is really an experiment. Some of the garden guys I watch have whole gardens where they simply experiment with different soils and techniques. One gardener in South Texas is considered a chaos gardener. She just throws seeds around and experiments that way. This has encouraged me to view mine as the same. 

And all this has brought me back to Thoreau's Walden. Henry David Thoreau lived his life in experiment mode! I remember reading how he worked hard, even on his own bean crop, and my spirit calms when reading the balanced view of his days and nature again.

"While I enjoy the friendship of the seasons I trust that nothing can make life a burden to me. The gentle rain which waters my beans and keeps me in the house today is not drear and melancholy, but good for me too. Though it prevents my hoeing them, it is of far more worth than my hoeing. If it should continue so long as to cause the seeds to rot in the ground and destroy the potatoes in the low lands, it would still be good for the grass on the uplands, and, being good for the grass, it would be good for me." HDT

I've been growing things from seeds too, including bush beans - which are fun to watch, but I've realized I do not enjoy the back and forth of the hardening off process. So, I've been writing down my planting results, including a collection of my feelings as data. It goes like this: 

Did the seeds for my beans grow well - check! Did the bugs come and eat the first real leaf - also check. What is the data on how that made me feel? Well, why spend months growing seeds only to have them eaten - next year I may just by transplants that are stronger. I value my time spent more than a few extra bucks. 

Anyway, the recent Spring hail may have damaged my little seedlings or critters may come and destroy all my work tomorrow despite my efforts. But to plant a garden is to sit in awe of nature. I continually challenge my brain not to focus SO much on the results and when successful, this makes the garden more beautiful and less stressful.

Here are some other practical ways to think of experimentation: 

New Hobbies

Treat your hobbies as a fun experiment. For example, let’s say you want to start painting. Instead of stressing about creating a “perfect” painting, view each brushstroke as an opportunity to collect data. How does paint react to changes in pressure of the brush to paper? What happens if you mix other colors together? You may discover a preference for abstract art over realism, or that you love the act of painting itself, regardless of the outcome. The goal of your new hobby shouldn't be perfection; it’s insight.

Building a Health Routine

Experiment with different routines or meal plans without the pressure of perfect results. Look at it as an experiment to try out different workout styles like Qigong, strength training, cardio—and see which ones you enjoy and how each makes you feel. Instead of measuring success by the number of pounds lost or the miles run, collect data about what keeps you energized or how your body responds. Get curious and ask yourself questions. By removing the outcome pressure, (lbs lost) which is usually based on society, and leaning into experimentation, the experience becomes about what you enjoy and not just a result.

Relationship Building

Consider the next few weeks an experiment in learning to have better relationships. Try new ways of communicating with a partner or experiment with different ways of spending time with family. If you need new friends, then look for different ways to meet new people. Would you like a more collaborative work environment with your team, experiment with a new meeting format. The results, whether classically a success or failure, are just data showing if this new idea strengthened your bonds or didn't resonate. In this experiment, outcomes can be beautiful data to inform you of better ways to build your connections.

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The Benefit: Excitement and an Open Mind

Approaching life like an experiment can help us embrace uncertainty with excitement rather than fear. It encourages a sense of curiosity, where we can be excited to see what works and what doesn’t, knowing that every result—good or bad—teaches us something valuable. With this open mind, we become more adaptable, resilient, and at ease with imperfections.

I hope you'll consider the weeks ahead as an experiment where you can see what works for you, what excites you, and what challenges you. And most of all, less pressure and more curiosity. 

Women's Quarter: Wilma Mankiller

 

I came across a Wilma Mankiller quarter after getting change at a local store. This amazing woman was the first female Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. Her leadership and advocacy for Native sovereignty, healthcare, and education left a lasting impact, but there's more to her story than most people know.

Common Facts:

• Born on November 18, 1945, in the Hastings Indian Hospital in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, to Clara Irene (née Sitton) and Charley Mankiller. Her father was a full-blooded Cherokee, whose ancestors had been forced to relocate to Indian Territory from Tennessee over the Trail of Tears in the 1830s.
• Historic Leadership: She served as Principal Chief from 1985 to 1995, leading the Cherokee Nation’s population growth and economic development.
• Advocate for Native Rights: Mankiller worked tirelessly to improve healthcare, housing, and education for Indigenous communities. She was a grant writer as well.
  
• Presidential Recognition: She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998.

Uncommon Facts:

• Unusual Last Name: The surname "Mankiller" comes from a Cherokee military title for a high-ranking warrior or protector.
• Started with Activism: Before entering politics, she was deeply involved in the 1969 Native American occupation of Alcatraz Island, a key moment in Indigenous activism.
• Overcame Hardships: She survived two near-fatal car accidents, underwent a kidney transplant, and battled cancer.
  
• Built from the Ground Up: One of her most successful projects was bringing running water and electricity to rural Cherokee communities, empowering people through self-help initiatives.

Wilma Mankiller was interesting to study. Her quarter isn't just currency in my pocket—it’s a symbol of strength and progress.

Quote after a car crash -  "a Cherokee approach to life." In a 1993 interview on NPR, she said: "I think the Cherokee approach to life is being able to continually move forward with kind of a good mind and not focus on the negative things in your life and the negative things you see around you, but focus on the positive things and try to look at the larger picture and keep moving forward..[It] also taught me to look at the larger things in life rather than focusing on small things, and it's also awfully, awfully hard to rattle me after having faced my own mortality ... so the things I learned from those experiences actually enabled me to lead. Without those experiences, I don't think I would have been able to lead. I think I would have gotten caught up in a lot of nonsensical things."

Whispers to Seeds: Our Garden's Quiet Beginnng

As I putter around my garden, whispering sweet prayers over my seedlings, they soak in the soil, water, and my gentle hopes for our future to be filled with beauty and bounty.
In my "Barkyard garden," I find a distraction from the noise of the world in a sanctuary where my spirit can hold onto hope and not get disheartened.

 

 

I think it started after my pecan trees produced a bumper crop. Inspired by having so many, this year I’m starting a garden! My hope is that it will help provide for my family. I’ve started small with seeds in little pots and a seed starting tray after doing a TON of research for my area. Prayerfully I'll be transferring them into my raised garden beds and planters in a month or so. My goals are to bring beauty into my backyard while supplementing our grocery budget by growing some of our own fruits and vegetables. With rising food costs, I hope to reduce our dependency on store-bought goods a little. If not by this year, then by 2026.

Honestly, I’ve been nervous about whether anything will actually grow, especially after a disappointing container gardening experience many years ago. Lately I've been reminding myself that there are no guarantees in gardening and that it’s okay if this doesn’t work. I'm trying to embrace the process, no matter the harvest? Each seed I plant does feel like an act of faith and a prayer for the future, even as I speak encouraging whispers into the soil.

I've started most from seed which have begun pushing through soil with the help of my grow lights (except strawberries, which I’ll buy and transplant). Watching them growing has been rewarding and as they've begun to push through the soil, my confidence grows too. 

Below is what I’m growing this year. I have two, side by side 4 ft long, 2ft across, and 1 ft deep raised garden beds and surrounding planters:

• Ace 55 Tomatoes
• Green Beans: Bush variety
• Ground Cherries
• Pickling Cucumbers (hoping to jar pickles with my grandma’s recipe)
• Lettuce: Summer Crisp & Red Romaine
• Edamame
• Broccoli
• Eggplant
  
• Carrots & Radishes
  
• Strawberries (in my grandma's terracotta pot too)

Have you ever heard of companion planting? I've been studying that too. I'll be planing these next items in and around the garden because they are said to help with pollination and pest control:

• Basil (companion to tomatoes)
  
• Mammoth Sunflowers
• Marigolds (champion of gardeners) & Cosmos flowers
  
• Dill & Chives
  

Now, naming my garden was tough. I wanted something that would make me smile! So, below are a few photos of the humble beginnings of the "Barkyard Garden." The "bark" is of course a nod to Branch, our black lab, and Gunner, our Dutch Shepherd's along with a playful take on the word "backyard," since that's where the garden is located and the pups outside domain.

So may God bless the Barkyard Garden as it grows, in its own way, and me as it nurtures my patience, hope, and trust in the harvest to come - not only in food but my character.

 

Will fill with soil in March!

My Grandma's Strawberry Pot

Women's Quarter: Dr. Mary Edwards Walker

I was at Aldi's returning my cart when a sweet woman came up to me and said, "Here! Take my quarter." It turned out to be one I hadn't seen before—the Dr. Mary Edwards Walker US quarter. Oh yay!

Mary Edwards Walker made history as the first female surgeon in the U.S. Army during the Civil War, where she served as a unpaid, contract surgeon despite women being barred from the military. Born in 1832, she earned her medical degree from Syracuse Medical College in 1855, one of the few women to do so at the time. During the war, she worked tirelessly for the Union, even being captured by Confederate forces and held as a prisoner of war for several months. She was released during a prisoner swap. In 1865, Walker was awarded the Medal of Honor for her bravery. The U.S. War Department revoked it in 1917 for not meeting the military criteria, but it was restored by Congress in 1977 after a long campaign by historians and advocates who argued that her service and achievements were deserving of the recognition. According to the Smithsonian Institution, she remains the only American Woman to receive the military decoration.

Mary was also a passionate advocate for women's rights, especially when it came to dress reform. She rejected the restrictive clothing of her time and championed the right for women to wear more practical attire, like pants. 

On a side note, I'd like express gratitude for women like Mary Edwards Walker, Amelia Bloomer, and Elizabeth Smith Miller, all of whom played pivotal roles in advocating for more practical, less restrictive clothing for women!

Walker's defiance of gender norms extended to her personal and professional life, where her choices often clashed with society’s expectations. Her unconventional lifestyle, including her decision to wear men's clothing, contributed to the breakdown of her marriage to Albert Miller, who struggled with her defiance of societal norms.

Mary passed away on February 21, 1919, at the age of 87 in Oswego, New York. What an extraordinary life she led—one marked by being a prisoner of war, a relentless defiance of societal norms, and an unwavering commitment to helping others through her medical work. Her story inspires me! Unfortunately, her quote rings true: we often wait too long to recognize great people. But perhaps this little post will help bring her remarkable story to light just a bit more.

Located on her statue by the entrance of Oswego Town Hall

Holloman Air Force Base display

Post Civil War - "reform dress"-shortened dress with bloomer pants

Circa 1911 - often seen in a man's top coat and hat