Tending Life's Garden

One of the most relaxing and soul-nourishing things for me is working in the garden.  I enjoy getting dirt under my nails, marveling at how fast things grow, and watching the small insects as they scurry around.  I especially enjoy watching the honey bees as they jump from petal to petal or the hummingbirds as they zip around in search of nectar.  A quiet garden is in reality, a very busy place.

 How we tend a garden is an important factor in what kind of results we get.  If we leave things up to chance allowing Mother Nature to do as she wills, we can be left with a garden full of weeds, malnourished, and as we have seen here in Colorado this year, lacking in water.  On the other hand, a little fertilizer, water, and periodic weeding goes a long way to improving the health of your garden.  Our own lives are like a garden.

How I tend my mind and soul says a lot about the conditions for personal growth and happiness.  First, comes my heart.  Like preparing the soil before planting and tending to it throughout the growing season, a heart that is hard won't support life very well.  Therefore, I need to continue each day to make sure that my heart remains open and ready to accept the water and nourishment that comes its way whether by intention or serendipity.  Second, the fertilizer I use in my life's garden must be free of toxins - in fact, I stick with organic.  For me, daily reading that feeds my mind and soul is no different than the loving care I give to the plants in my garden.  If I want a rich harvest, then the quality of nourishment is a vitally important element.  I need to weed on a regular basis and for me that means frequently examining my habits and behaviors and removing anything that may choke off my growth or crowd out what I really want.  Regular pruning is also important and that requires periodically snipping off parts of the plant in order for it to bear even more fruit later.  Pruning in life's garden is all about letting go even of things which may be positive or produce joy in exchange for something even greater down the road.  The last component in my life's garden is the serendipity of Nature's periodic rain and of course lots of sun.  Sometimes, we don't have to do anything and we benefit.  But keep in mind, if you do none of the things to prepare life's garden for those moments of pure gift, then most of the benefit will simply run off rather than be absorbed.

So next time you're out in your yard or walking through a park or garden enjoying the solitude and beauty of your surroundings, keep in mind that it probably didn't get that way by accident.  Someone has taken the time to care for it.  Are you doing the same for yourself?