In the Garden of Life.

“For all these years you’ve protected the seed. It’s time to become the flower.” -Stephen C. Paul

When I look at a gardener, I cannot help but appreciate their work. Such brilliance, intelligence, and science at work. I realize how amazing our farmers are in using this knowledge to create miracles out of the earth. Yes, Growing something out of the earth is a Miracle itself.

As I am writing this line, I am grinning ear to ear. I never really knew what to do in my life. But I knew I wanted to do something.

This article is about deeper lessons on life that we can extract from our gardeners. Let’s jump straight on.

1: Finding your seed:

A gardener identifies the seed, he wants to plant. For example, If I want to have mangoes & I plant seeds of an apple, will I get Mangoes? ever? No. To get mangoes, I need to plant the seed of a mango. Similarly, Identify the kind of life you want to live. Then Identify what kind of person deserves to live that life. That vision, that desire is the seed of life. If you do not know the kind of life you want to live, how will this universe conspire to get you what you want?

2: Making the land Fertile:

A seed can never grow in a barren land. A seed needs fertile soil to grow. What is fertile land? Your Mind. To plant a seed in it, we need to plow the soil. And how do we plow? We learn. We learn from books, videos, people, movies, a flyer, whatever you can experience from your senses. We learn from everywhere, anywhere, and anytime. The more we learn the more we plow our land. This learning attitude within you is a process. It is never done. We keep learning, keep making our soil rich.

3: Taking the weeds out:

In a garden, If weeds outgrow, it takes the space of the plant we want to grow. Since the plant cannot grow properly, It might even die. If we don’t take responsibility to take the weeds out, all we will have in our garden is weeds. And we don’t want weeds. Similarly, take the weeds off your life. It can be an unhealthy relationship, energy vampires, toxic people, or even addictive habits. I know we cannot weed all of it out of our life, because some of the weed is a part of us. Now the solution is simple. If you cannot weed them out, at least keep your distance. Maintain a distance. Don’t fuel their engagement. With time, the distance grows. And in this way, you can give space for healthy plants.

4:Pulling doesn't speed up the growth:

All that a gardener does is help create an environment where the new sapling is protected. The gardener's role is to keep the sapling alive until it is strong enough to take care of itself. The gardener cannot accelerate the process of growth. He cannot pull the plant to make it grow faster. That’s stupid, the plant will die. Similarly, we have relationships. We cannot accelerate relationships to make them better. A relationship has its own life, own time, let it grow. By relationship, I mean each and every possible relationship.

5:Oservation & Appreciation is the secret:

The gardener looks at its garden and just observes. He looks at how the plant is growing. What does it need? If the insects are rampaging, the gardener needs to control them. If the plants need water regularly, the gardener needs to do so. Likewise, there is an experiment done by Dr.Masaru Emoto. In this experiment, Dr. Emoto used two jars with rice and water. To one jar Dr. Emoto used harsh words every day. To the other jar, Dr.Emoto used kind and loving words. After a week, the jar that was introduced with harsh words molded fungus. But the second jar with kind love was flourishing. They both had the exact situation, but the only variable was the use of the word. Similarly, Life needs both tender love and harsh critic. But the intention to observe and appreciate must be objective. Use it wisely according to the context of your chapter.

6: Symbiosis:

A gardener usually introduces two different types of plants that support each other. For example: in the field of Corn, the farmers plant peas together with it. Similarly, Have a relationship that supports the growth of each individual. Irrespective of gender, be with someone who recognizes the importance of a relationship. It holds the power to awaken and inspire two compassionate human beings into reaching the highest potential of human expression. To experience love with no limit. I wonder what it would feel like? Anyway, This doesn’t mean your life will be smooth and easygoing. It will still be a mess. A complete disaster and total chaos. From an outer perspective, you will still live a life that needs fixing. But internally, you will be calm, serene, and full of bliss. Because you know this is what you need to grow. This fight is exactly what you need to grow or this love is exactly what you need to grow. What is life, besides an ever-going process of growth?

7: share & contribute:

Ever wondered how soils are formed? After every season, the plants bear fruit and then dies. Once the purpose is complete the plant becomes the very soil that allowed it to grow. The next sapling will flourish in this very soil and the cycle will continue. Similarly, realize that death is inevitable. We are destined to die. This is the nature of life. But we have a choice, To live intentionally and die with the content or live like a flying plastic bag and die unaware of death. Dying with contentment that we enjoyed our life and fulfilled our highest purpose. Then, Having that contentment that we left the world with a brighter smile is euphoric. But seems like we have one more option, To contribute. Whatever or however you are can you share something with good intent. If you can act and make an impact great, kudos. But even if you did not make a “Great” impact, you tried. And that’ what counts. You initiated the process, the next sapling will take that intention to the next level.

At last, This perspective of life is not unique. I did not come up with it. I accumulated this perspective by observing my life and learning from the lives of others who lived before me and who lives with me. The intention is to grow this perspective. Make it more refine and experiment with life. I am not a perfect person. I am full of holes and flaws, even as of this day. But the purpose is not to be perfect but to thrive for the highest possibility of this life. I wish you and me all the humbleness and curiosity to look at our lives with appreciation and gratitude. This is my only wish, To let this life live onto a zillion other lives. May this smile bring a smile to a person who needs it the most.

From the most selfish person in the world

to the most selfless person in the world.

— Manoj Pun