As I have said many times in this blog, I receive some of my most profound insights when I dedicate myself to the care and nurturing of my garden. This morning was a perfect example.
What I intended to be no more than watering the garden became much more. I decided to pull a few weeds, then a few more, until I had weeded out an entire section that had been choked. When I'm weeding I generally come across little flowers hidden by the weeds so I "rescue" them, removing them from the weedy area and transplanting them to an area with more of their own kind that had also been rescued. In the process, I noticed that my lush stand of marigolds was so thick it needed thinning out, so I separated the many plants and transplanted them around the garden. I think it is important to note here that in contrast to my usual practice of purchasing annuals to perk up my garden, this year I did nothing of the kind. I was simply too busy to do gardening. Even watering it was a chore that I did hurriedly and inadequately. In spite of that, though, my garden is producing flowers. Apparently last year some of my annuals dropped seeds that germinated and sprang up in all manner of odd places. It's as if my garden was telling me, "Don't worry. We're still here for you." Lately, since I have been much more diligent about watering and tending to my garden, the flowers have been demonstrating their appreciation by propagating.
It was while I was transplanting the marigolds that a several revelations came to me. Upon being moved, the flowers and leaves began to wilt and look very sad, so I turned on the sprinkler and made sure they got a good drink to help them revive and settle in. Then I stood back to survey what I had done. It was then that I became aware of a few corollaries: The first of these is that people are like plants. When abruptly uprooted and moved to a new location, they become sad and weakened but will bounce back if given sufficient time, nurturing and the necessary tools. The second, and perhaps the most important of these corollaries hits a little closer to home. By separating one thick mass of marigolds into several smaller plants, I essentially "spread the wealth". The garden was telling me that I already had everything I needed and all I had to do was redistribute my assets. By carefully tending to what I already had before me, I could achieve my ultimate goals.
The first of these realizations I take as referring to my youngest daughter who has moved away to start a new life as a college student. I expect that sooner or later the first bloom of novelty will soon give way to homesickness and I won't be surprised to receive a few plaintive phone calls from her pining for some of my cooking or wanting me to massage her feet. (Yeah, she's spoiled. All my kids are.) The second I take as referring to, among other things, my current financial situation. My husband joined the ranks of the unemployed recently and has been unsuccessful in getting another job. We are in the uneviable position of having two children in college, a mortgage to pay and no income. I'll have to see how I can redistribute some of my "wealth" (which in my case has nothing to do with money) to address these concerns. Time will tell.
Ballo ergo sum- Gitana, the Creative Diva
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