I will forever remember the year 2020 as the year that dealt me a tough hand. Like many, I faced the challenges of being thrust into the uncharted experiences of the pandemic, but nothing prepared me for losing the love of my life. As an outlet and source of solitude and connection, I reached for defining moments in nature while allowing my green thumb to flourish. It was nothing elaborate or anywhere near solving world hunger, but it was a connection to the beauty of internal and external growth and cultivation. My garden produced well, and my flower bed was amazing. I never wait for tradition, so the sweetness of Halloween came early—in April, to be exact. No tricks, just treats for the eyes of the passersby.
Gardening reinforced the fact that as the seasons change, it is important to remember what season we are in. You can’t grow a watermelon in the frigidity of winter, and pumpkin spice does not taste as good on July 4th, not even for me. Understanding where you are defines how you get to where you want to be. As we leave summer behind and embrace the coziness of fall, let’s not miss the message that trees illustrate so well, how beautiful yet necessary it is that we understand seasons and shed the old in preparation for the new.
How refreshing it is to know that with each season, we gain the newness of a fresh start. It’s a newness that opens up space for the imagination to capture an unobstructed view of potential, a canvas of potential not governed by the brushstrokes of old but sketches of the new. Recognizing this fresh start grants us full ownership of the paintbrush of life’s artwork and the ability to release old visions in exchange for new view.
Nature is one of life’s greatest teachers of success, and it leaves so many clues all along the way. Some things just are not easy in the moment. As I turned over the flower beds for the fall, I struggled with uprooting such beauty, but it is only there that you can create and discover the possibilities that live within a beautiful blank canvas.
Life is a garden of so much opportunity, some we can see and some not yet visible, as they are just below the surface of that blank canvas. Stay the course, and I promise you, the cultivation, beauty and growth experienced within your harvest will be nothing short of amazing.
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