A LESSON FROM THE GARDEN
Beneath the vibrant tapestry of blossoms and the patient rhythm of the seasons, the garden whispers timeless wisdom. From the tiny sprout emerging from a seed to the radiant flower shriveling to its demise, the garden offers no instructions or commands. It doesn’t ask the plant to be punctual; it doesn’t convince the rain to arrive on time; it doesn’t punish a crooked stem or scold a malformed fruit. There are no punishments levied for slow growth or pesky feeders that threatens harm, and no applause for beautiful blooms or bountiful harvests. The garden does not impose its will on its plants, it just lets go and allows. Yet, despite the setbacks and imperfections of nature, flowers still bloom, fruits are harvested and the decay returns to the soil for the next planting, a perfectly imperfect world within the garden. 
But, far beyond the garden gates, we seek perfection. We meddle and control to obtain our desires. We obsess over timelines and schedules. We command outcomes and value appearances. We develop expectations and suffer upset when those expectations are not met. That is human nature for many of us. As we cultivate our garden paradise, we panic when things don’t sprout on time; when cold weather stunts growth or when plants wilt in the heat. We curse the pests feeding on our precious vegetation that we worked so hard to nurture and we scheme to extinguish or deter the unwanted garden predators.
We prune, spray, fertilize, water and repeat, and yet, plants still die, some flowers don’t bloom, fruit spoils on the vine and not everything is beautiful and thriving. We learn that control is as brittle as nature is resilient. When we align with the rhythm of nature, we resist controlling or expecting. We allow the garden to teach us how to cultivate and care for it. And in that quiet surrender we learn to truly participate and enjoy the beauty and peacefulness of the gardening experience. And nestled somewhere within quiet surrender our intuitive gardener emerges to live another day and learn another lesson in the garden school of wisdom.
