Landscaping Indulgence

For a long time I've wanted to create a yoga meditation garden with a California mountain motif, including a flowing stream, on 500 square feet of my backyard. I've held back from a ingrained miserly streak, a pathological inclination to not spend money. I finally did it and I love it. The plants are young; it will take a season or two for them to grow and embrace the water. It is already attracting birds, especially goldfinches and hummingbirds. It is a peaceful place to meditate, or eat an apple. As the weather warms it will be a fine location for my yoga practice.

As a conservationist I can see my hypocrisy. The stream is recirculating and the landscaping is mostly drought tolerant, so the total water use is less than the lawn that was previously there. But, the stream requires a pump which consumes energy and there is nothing I can do about that. It is my indulgence, my sin. I hope that the good karma of creating a pleasant environment for the birds of my neighborhood will outweigh the bad karma of the waste.