In this episode, Jim talks about appreciating some electronics-free time outside.
Podcast Transcription:
WRVO Producer Mark Lavonier:
This podcast is one in a series titled, From the Soil with Sollecito, hosted by lifetime senior certified landscape professional Jim Sollecito of Sollecito Landscaping Nursery, Hallock Hill Road, Syracuse. These commentaries focus on landscape management practices that use only natural products and methods, safe for the environment, and that bring beauty to the landscape. And now Jim Sollecito.
Jim Sollecito:
I’m uncomfortable in big cities, always have been. The incessant noise does not allow me peace. It seems everyone is always busy talking on devices about anything but the here and now. I feel they're missing out on the small gems that enrich daily life.
When I was on the college wrestling team, we would get gigs as concert security. I remember the 1973 Watkins Glen Summer Jam, along with 600,000 of my new best friends. Not one talking on a cell phone because they hadn't been invented yet. The air was filled with the band, the Allman Brothers, the Grateful Dead, and a lot of smoke from weed. Ripple by the Dead resonated. Listening as if I were alone, a ripple on still water, despite the fact that I was surrounded literally by a sea of humanity.
Every now and then, that catchy tune pops into my head. Just a feel-good song that persists in my brain, making me smile and nod my head to the rhythm. Sometimes this happens in my own backyard when the sun warms the soil and my heart. My ritual, this reawakening, happens every spring—smelling the soil, tasting the fresh air, listening to droplets as they water freshly planted roots, feeling alive again, one ripple at a time.
It's not always important to make waves; sometimes a ripple is enough. It intersects and occasionally overlaps with others. As we take advantage of outdoor opportunities, let's silence our electronic devices and experience the miracle that it is to participate on this planet. You know, I seize the day when I can. It helps to place myself in proper perspective to the larger scope of the world.
So take a moment, go outside, and experience the positive impact within you and around you. Your contentment and happiness will ripple to the point of overflow.
WRVO Producer Mark Lavonier:
From the Soil with Sollecito is a production of WRVO Public Media. If you have a question for Jim about your home landscaping, visit sollecito.com and click on contact or call 315-468-1142.
