Free Charlie's Dream by Jamie Rowboat Page A

Shamir's wheelbarrow. "What type of fertiliser do you use on all of these plants?"
    "I recycle the scraps from the house as compost, but what they react to best is a lot of love and attention. Just like us, they don't like being taken for granted. If they feel that someone is listening to them and hearing their needs, they are only too happy to produce lots of beautiful fruit. It's easy, really," said Shamir, with a cheeky grin.
    "You make everything sound so simple," said Charlie.
    "With awareness, everything is simple. Instead of trying to work out everything for yourself, by listening, you are putting yourself in touch with the universal power that creates and maintains it all. Provided you are then willing to listen to its advice, you have a lot more freedom and power than someone who tries to struggle along using only their own will as guidance."
    "Mm, that all sounds fine in theory, but how do you make it work?"
    "Okay, well let me show you something simple that might help," said Shamir. With that, he picked up a small tray of lettuce seedlings and handed them to Charlie.
    "Now, sit down with the tray on your lap."
    Charlie did as he was asked and, when he was comfortable, Shamir stood behind him and gently put his hands on his shoulders.
    "Close your eyes, Charlie, and release all of your thoughts by focusing your mind on the breath that is going in and out of your body. Don't worry if your brain fights you for a while, just keep letting go of your thoughts and see what replaces them."
    Charlie sat totally still for quite a few minutes and let his thoughts go as best he could. There was a brief moment of peace amongst the trying and, suddenly, an answer came out of the stillness. When he opened his eyes again, Shamir was sitting cross-legged in front of him.
    "They don't want to be planted today," said Charlie, with a smile. "They'd prefer to wait for the full moon next week. But they're grateful to be considered and are looking forward to their time in your garden. Amazing, is it really that easy?" asked Charlie.
    "It is, my friend, it is," said Shamir nodding.
    By the time they finished in the garden that evening, they were both exhausted, yet satisfied. Charlie had practised talking to a whole range of plants, with varying degrees of success. As Shamir pointed out, he was probably a little bit too excited to listen all the time.
    "Strange as it may seem, it takes time to develop the skills needed to listen consistently," said Shamir, as they cleaned their hands in the tiny stream that ran through the centre of the garden. "But to succeed at your first attempt is a very promising sign."
    Once they had finished clearing up, neither of them had enough energy to bother about supper, or any more talking for that matter. So after a couple of pieces of cheese on toast and a mug of hot chocolate in front of the fire, they were very happy to get to bed. As they lay in the darkness awaiting the touch of sleep, Charlie turned onto his side and whispered across the room in the direction of Shamir's bed.
    "I'm pleased I came to the valley, Shamir, even if I don't really understand what's going on."
    "Thank you, Charlie, thank you," came the faint reply.

Chapter 8
     
     
     
    When Gemma woke, the warmth from the young woman next to her was like a hot water bottle. The first glimmers of light were appearing in the fig tree's uppermost leaves and the birds were singing madly to celebrate the end of the nightlong downpour. For a while she thought about an early morning stroll, but she was planning quite an expedition for them that day, so she allowed the comfort of sleep to beckon to her again. When she woke up, her hot water bottle was gone and there was the unmistakable smell of toast and coffee in the air. Gemma loved the smell of fresh coffee being made. It reminded her of living in France when she studied Art in Paris before the First World War. She had lived on the West Bank for ten glorious years in a large three-storeyed