Lessons From My Garden.

A Garden brings a sense of purpose to many, it means a little exercise for some and to me I realise we the right mindset, there is so much we can learn…

Now let’s start from the top. The lesson I learned from the first photo is to see the beauty in everything. This dilapidated plant stand was once beautiful and strong. It was once relied on to hold all those plants that surround it. Now, it has lost its original purpose but it adds a rustic beauty to the scene. Also those plants now help its beauty to shine even brighter.

Next, is my peace spot. plants of different lengths and strength intertwined to offer a shield of peace in a place that offers little shelter from the real world. It teaches me that when you find that peaceful spot you must take the time to appreciate it. It also reminds me of the importance of having that oasis in a seemingly barren land, one that gives joy peace and happiness.

After this, there is the star fruit tree. Though small and young it has provided six crops already! It reminds me that age was never a limitation. The limitation comes from the impositions placed on age by society. The tree cares little for expectations and bears when it is ready. It doesn’t care for anyone’s timeline, except its own and because of this we can appreciate both its generosity and beauty in both bloom and bearing.

These two stalk of scallion were planted by untrained hands. There was little expectation and yet they decided to live. It reminds me that it is not whether others belief in you but if you believe in yourself. If you believe in yourself enough for everyone else there is nothing you can’t do or be. Your strength comes from within and is dependent on your will given to you by the Almighty. Though few will be there who really believe in you, believe in yourself and forget about the rest. You will get there in time.

Then there is this yam tree that thrives in a once barren space. It was the site of a traumatic event. A coconut tree struck by lightning, never to recover. Before it was planted by my aunt noone thought it could ever be redeemed, no one deemed it useful. Now this once barren hole brings forth life once, life that will feed nourish and make whole.

surrounded by a bean tree is the ruins of a limes tree. It was once tall, full and fluffy and bore limes until all its branches bowed to the ground. The limes on that tree was almost the size of a good sized lemon! Many persons benefited from that lime tree and we thought it would never stop giving. Then last year it became one of the many victims of the drought season. Of course we were in denial of its dying because it had been so strong and generous. Weaker trees had survived, why could it not? However, it still died even though we tried to save it, it was its time. However it still stands because it was needed. It was needed to offer support to things still alive. Death is always in the middle of the living and vice versa and sometimes the dead become the shoulder that the living stands on to realise its potential.

The final picture is that of a beautiful flower that fell down, we thought it was dead. Though it fell it did not die. It found a way to thrive where it had fallen and to not only add even more beauty, but more importantly hope. I gathered hope that if I fall I can still shine. If I fall where I did not begin or hope to be, I can still thrive and flourish. It is not where you end up but what you do while you are there.

There are many lessons we can learn from so many unassuming things, if we only take the time to really look closely.