If Life is a Garden, What Do You Grow?

If life is a garden, what do you grow?

Analogies about life and how to live it abound.

Let’s see. There’s “Life is like a box of chocolates,” and “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.” Or perhaps “Play the hand you’re dealt.” I bet you can think of others.

Not long ago I came across a new one while listening to The Places That Scare You by Pema Chödrön: Your life is your own plot of ground to tend. This spark inspired the sort of extended, meandering metaphor I love best.

Ahem.

Life Is A Garden

Your garden, to be precise — which makes you the gardener. Pull on your boots, roll up your sleeves, and prepare to get dirty in the name of growth and flourishing beauty.

You don’t have much control over the plot you get or what it contains, but as the gardner you can do amazing things with what you have. Take the raw materials you find in yourself and in your life and nurture them, develop them, shape them into the sort of place you want to spend your time.

The things you plant and nurture will shape you. Tend your plantings carefully. Neglect will kill them, but so will too much attention. It’s a slow, ongoing process with plenty of beauty along the way. Don’t miss it. There is no end goal. Relish what you are creating with your own two hands every single day.

If you fall behind and the weeds start to sprout, catch up. It’s nothing a little strategic pruning can’t fix. There is beauty in an untended plot, grown wild with weeds. There is loveliness and potential in a stark patch of unplanted earth. But the most productive, fruitful, rewarding gardens are the ones that are tended with love.

You can’t control what others do with their plots. Stop trying. Their lives — their gardens — are theirs to nurture or to waste as they see fit. All you can do is offer encouragement, wisdom, support. They must do the tending. They must make the final call. Focus on what you can control.

What if the view from your garden sucks? Tough cookies. Make your garden amazing and no one will notice — not even you. Someone on a nearby plot annoying you beyond what you can deal with? Put up a lush, glorious hedge and go about your business.

And of course, let’s not forget the crap we have to go through. The failures, the bad days, the painful and disheartening experiences? Those, my friends, are the fertilizer. Till it into your garden, make it a part of you, let its presence make you stronger.

It’s up to you what you’ll grow in that rich soil, in your very own garden. Will you let the weeds grow wild or plant something magnificent?

Think About It

If life is a garden, what do you grow?

Some other posts you might enjoy:

Wisdom from a Former Self

Thrive With Less: Make Time to Watch This

The Totally Unexpected Thing I Learned While Teaching Squares

Sandra @ Living Lagom

I love the garden analogy...and all the additional bits that were added in :)

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Erin

Hehe, thanks. Always have to have additional bits, as long as they're not taking up too much space :-)

Jenny

Hi Erin, I love inspiring stories. One book that help me to remake myself is My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor. I also completely devoured Frank McCourt's memoirs. Barefoot Heart by Elva Trevino Hart was also wonderful. There's really too many to choose!

I have My Stroke of Insight on my shelf! It sounds like I should get to that one. I still haven't read any Frank McCourt, somehow, and I've not heard of Barefoot Heart. It sounds like you're a memoir person. I tend more toward fiction, though lately I've been picking up more nonfiction. I should get back to memoirs -- I really do love them. Thank you for sharing some of your favorites!

Hi Erin, Thanks for the great response. Yes, I do have a few perennials, such as my love for literature and writing, cooking for my family, fitness, and of course I love to jump into new projects all the time! As far Etsy, I taught myself to sew after having an idea. It arrived after observing a group of children in my son's preschool class who were addicted to a game they invented, playing puppies and kittens while crawling on all fours. They played this game for months. Some of the moms said they could not find soft knee pads, only hard sports pads. So I set to work on it, and added in some paws as an after thought. The kids loved them! So "Knees and Paws" were born. With great excitement we sent off a patent application (it was accepted for review but no word on the final decision.) Some of my young customers are still playing with their paws three years later. However, most folks seem to buy my animal themed headbands, which helps to pay my Etsy bill and supplies. New ideas are the most difficult to launch. I'm finding that people love familiar. Novelty is risky. I wish you all the best with your Etsy shop. Please be sure to share a link when you're up an running so I can visit and share with my friends! (P.S. If you happen to stop by my blog, I'm currently in the midst of transitioning to another platform and have comments turned off until my move is complete.)

Hey Jenny! I love your perennials -- and I'm so glad you have them. I love literature, too. What do you like to read? And as much as it can be annoying to always be starting new projects, it's kind of fun in a way, too, isn't it? :-) Never a dull moment and all that. That's so cool you taught yourself to sew so you could execute your idea! That's remakeability right there. The kneepads are a great idea -- obviously, if kids are still going with them. Novelty is risky, yeah, but it's too bad many people don't realize how important it can be. I just poked around your Etsy shop -- really cute. I'm a little overwhelmed at the prospect of launching my shop, but it's something I want to try, so...in the name of remakeability, I'm doing it! I'll let you know when it's up. Perhaps we can...what's the Etsy term...circle one another? I was over on your blog, but saw only "a member of this blog" could comment, so I didn't. I saw your most recent post and hope you get what you need from a period of reflection. Sometimes those are necessary. I'll be interested to visit the new platform, whatever it may be!

Hi Erin, I found you through the comment stream on Emilie's Puttytribe discussion and wanted to say what a great discovery it is to find such a thoughtful, intelligent person who understands the unending dilemma of "remakeablity" or "multipotentiality." I've worn a cloak of inner failure most of my adult life, because while I worked very hard for my education, I repeatedly found ways not to grow into a career person. My garden is like a bed of annuals whose colorful yet seasonal life means that I need to replant every year. Somehow I've managed to keep my Etsy shop going for nearly three years, with agonizing patience and a firm grip on hope...because it is a place where process and inventiveness and new ideas can be tested. I'm really delighted to have found you and look forward to reading your beautiful blog. Take care.

Hi Jenny! That's awesome, I'm so glad you followed me back "home" :) Thank you for your kind words and for sharing a bit of your story. I know that "cloak of inner failure" for the same reasons, and your description of planting annuals is so perfect. I hope that you are finding ways to work some perennials in, or at least that your annuals are beautiful while they last. What do you sell on Etsy? I'm in the process of launching a shop and would love to hear more, on all fronts.

Karen J

@Erin, @Sarah ~ You guys ROCK! It'd never occurred to me that "too much attention" will wreck your garden, too. And I so appreciate that butterflies story, Sarah - so true! Have a lovely weekend ~

Glad this one spoke to you, Karen. I agree -- the butterflies are a great addition :-)

Sarah

Thanks Karen, glad you liked the butterflies too!

Kim

Hey! It's Kim from the Puttytribe discussion. I'm really enjoying what I've read of your blog so far! I LOVE this line... "Someone on a nearby plot annoying you beyond what you can deal with? Put up a lush, glorious hedge and go about your business." It gives me such a vivid mental picture!

Hey Kim! I'm so glad you followed me back here and that you're enjoying what {rbh} is all about :-) I got a great mental picture when I thought about the hedge thing, too. It made me quite happy. Because really, there are always going to be people you just can't stand and that you will never be able to stand. Instead of fighting them or letting them ruin your days, put up that hedge. As long as you're not totally surrounded by hedges, you'll be fine!

I love this analogy Erin! It reminds me of something I read about wealth (as in abundance, not financial wealth) that said most people go about their lives trying to catch butterflies with a net. But once they've caught that butterfly, it can escape and they spend all their time trying to keep the butterflies they have. But if they build a beautiful garden then the butterflies will come and you can throw away the net because they'll stick around. Actually, I guess that could be applied to financial wealth too, but anyway. I wonder what I grow...? Hmm, going to go and think about that now :)

Ooh, I love that addition! That's so, so true. The nicer your garden, the more lovely butterflies will come of their own accord. I love analogies like this that can just keep going. :-)