Gardening Thoughts

Life Lessons from My Garden

My wonderful garden has taught me much.  Gardening contributes to my sense of balance by helping me to slow down.  It is meditative, relaxing, and nurturing.  Most of all, it provides me with considerable inspiration, joy, and grounding.  I look forward to being with it when it is away from me during winter and rejoice in our reunion every spring.  It is an old, trusted friend that never fails me.  The personal rewards come not only from the results, but the act of gardening itself.  It is the one way I can nurture my world on my own terms and aim for the results I want to possibly have a hand in achieving.  I eagerly look every day for the signs of a response to my nurturing.  The responses I see and smell are gifts from above and a connecting point to something much higher and greater than us.  These celebratory gifts affirm my joy to be alive.

Despite its joys and pleasures, gardening is not appreciated by or is suited much for the lazy!  It teaches that hard work, patience, and perseverance will likely pay off, but is not guaranteed, just as in other areas of life.  Just when you have weeded more than you thought you could, there will be more shortly!  That is when we learn that the act of weeding itself is meditative, just as washing dishes can be, in its repetitive motion.  But there is the added benefit of being outside; feeling the wind and the sun against our skin.  We are reminded again how nice it is to be alive, connecting to the earth and the world, while making it neater.

Occasionally, without much intent, I am surprised by my garden (and life).  I marvel and am in awe that something unexpected has grown to delight my view and taste buds.  How amazingly sensual gardening can be!  Did I expect that flower to be such a vibrant yellow?  I didn’t know I had such bright red tulips!  It is my personal paradise that fills me with immeasurable pride.  And it sure doesn’t hurt when the neighbors comment on its beauty or how they look forward to seeing my magnificent Irises every year.  They are part of the ritual marking the official beginning of spring and summer.

I am sad to see the end of my gardening season, just as I am sad to see the end of anything meaningful in my life.  However, all I can do is recall the beauty brought into my life as a result of my garden and loved ones in my life. I treasure the moments with both.  They will never come again.  But I can look ahead to unimaginable wonder, beauty, learning, and love again the following year in my garden and life.