Parenting teaches patience, or so I’ve been told. But gardening seems to be a better teacher. Every day I go out and look at my garden to see what is new. I thrill at the new buds, leaves, and flowers. But I also find myself wishing certain things were farther along. I end up pruning at inappropriate times, overwatering, and picking unripe strawberries. Gardening is an art form. Letting the garden come into its own is a lot like trusting that our children will come out ok if we do our best (hopefully even if we don’t). Yet, even now, at 5:00 a.m. in the pouring rain, I’m wishing the rain would stop so I can get my hands dirty. Patience, Rachele, Patience!
Gardening Teaches Patience
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2 responses to “Gardening Teaches Patience”
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Hope this comment gets posted. The site seems to remember me, but my last comment wasn’t posted.
Love the analogy between gardening and child rearing. Both tasks involve allowing the inner force of growth, that exists in all living beings, to realize its own potential. In that practice, we certainly have the capacity to more harm than good. Check out my recent post at http://ndsmith.wordpress.com I was recently reminded of the old doctor’s credo “Primum non nocere” which means, first of all, do no harm with reference to education. But there is certainly a continuous analogy between the three disciplines (gardening, education and child rearing).
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Your right about gardening beeing an art form and constant attention to your “baby” can be soothing. I’ve just completed putting up my hanging baskets and that’s taken a couple of seasons to learn how to do them right, with patience.
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