For lunch today I had a salad made out of “treasures” from my backyard, most of which I had not planted. My favorite green this time of year is lambsquarter (also called goosefoot or Belgian spinach). Most people consider it a weed.
However, according to Dr. Peter Gail, Director of Goosefoot Acres Center for Wild Vegetable Research and Education, its leaves have more vitamin C than citrus fruit and more vitamin A than carrots. It’s the richest green vegetable source of calcium and is especially rich in protein, B vitamins and phosphorus.
Dr. Gail states, “It is sadly amusing to watch serious gardeners deliberately destroy these young wild spinach plants growing voluntarily in their gardens, at no cost or work to them, to make room to plant cultivated spinach seeds which are harder to grow, less tasty and not as nutritious!”
Joyfully, the treasures of my backyard aren’t limited to just lambsquarter. From the many wild edibles available there, I chose dandelion greens and blossoms, violet leaves and blossoms, volunteer Egyptian onion greens, and volunteer cilantro. Added to that were a few thinnings from the arugula and lettuce plantings, and the tops and bulbs of the freshly pulled radishes. Drizzled with a homemade oil and vinegar dressing seasoned with basil (dried from last year’s crop), I had a super salad. I could just “feel” my cells saying “Thank-you.”
But let’s be honest. The idea of eating “weeds” is not all that appealing to most people, or even me – unless, of course, I know they’re edible, nutritious, and palatable. Then they’re treasures.
As I sat and ate my Backyard Salad, I began to think about other “treasures” in life that I might be missing – either because I don’t know about them, or because the thought of them is not appealing.
“That’s it,” I thought. “I miss out on treasures because I don’t recognize them as treasures. And I don’t recognize them as treasures because they’re not appealing to me!
My mind suddenly jumped to a lecture I recently attended. The speaker, Dr. David Levy, is a renowned neurosurgeon. During his speech he talked about the power of forgiveness in the context of his relationship with his father. He had issues with his father that stemmed from his childhood and had a lasting effect on him. But he finally came to the place where he forgave his father and worked to develop a relationship with him, during which time he let his father know he had forgiven him.
Then Dr. Levy made this profound statement: “The greatest gift children can give their parents is to forgive them – even when they don’t ask for it.”
Wow! Now that’s a nugget of pure gold! A hidden treasure! I hadn’t really thought of my forgiving someone as a gift to them, but it is. If someone owes me some money and I “forgive him the debt,” I’m absorbing the cost. It costs to forgive because forgiving means that I am releasing the other person from their obligation to me. (That’s not always appealing because our natural inclination is to “make them pay” for what they’ve done.) But the result can be real freedom in the relationship.
That’s a treasure I’ve tucked away in my heart to not only apply in my own life, but to pass on to others.
I have a hunch that treasures are everywhere, and that we miss them because we aren’t really looking for them. And, I have a hunch that often we fail to recognize the treasure because it seems so counter-intuitive – like the thought of eating highly nutritious weeds.
Treasure hunting! It’s something you can do too. Just think of it as finding nourishment for the soul.
And while you’re at it, try some lambsquarter from your own backyard and nourish your physical body as well!
