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Welcome back to the Growing Tree of Life, our weekly exploration of personal growth and well-being.
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Issue Number: #074
Date: 24 June 2024
Reading Time: 3 minutes
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Strawberries in my garden
I have a very small garden, or backyard as we call it in the UK.
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I let it grow wild because I like the small pink flowers you can see in the photo. They grow alongside purple flowers and other plants. However, I wanted a small patch for strawberries. So, I cleared a bit of space in the backyard, added four bags of topsoil, and planted strawberries.
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When I set it up, the strawberries' area was clear and well defined. But weeds and wildflowers soon encroached on them.
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Today, I had to clean it up. And while weeding out my mini-garden I realised that my backyard is in many ways an image of my life. I let many things in life grow naturally without much thought. And I have a few areas of life I focus on.
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But like the strawberry patch, I see how the wild parts can take over when not kept in check.
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In my life, I like the free-flow states when I let things happen.
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But should I let everything grow wild?
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When I enjoy life's natural beauty, do I miss on the creative part of life?
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Should I intentionally clear some parts to keep them tidy, focused, and fruitful?
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And how much of life should be well-defined, free of weeds, and maintained for a specific purpose?
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Working in the garden is often meditative experience for me. My garden taught me that there are weeds and bugs. When I leave things to grow wild I may enjoy it and it might look beautiful, but without boundaries the wild things will encroach on areas I want to maintain.
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The bugs eat my strawberries. And they thrive when the weeds engulf the strawberry patch.
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It's okay to have wild patches in the garden but they need clear boundaries. Whenever the wild life starts taking over the strawberries' space, it's time to cut them back. This way, the strawberries can grow well without the wild patch killing them.
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In life, it's important to set boundaries too. I don't have to get rid of all the wild things but I have to ensure they don't take over areas where I want purpose, growth, and productivity.
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So I need to sit down and think about my garden.
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- What do I want to change?
- What part of it will be wild growing and what part I will maintain and how it will look?
- How will I set and define boundaries between those two, so I will see clearly when the wild tries to take over the purposeful?
Then I need to clear out what doesn't belong and focus on what brings sweet fruits into my life — I mean, garden.
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That's my tip for today:
- Create a mental image of your life, decide what parts you want maintained and what parts you will leave to random chance.
- Set clear boundaries between the wild growing areas and the purposeful parts of your life.
- Enjoy the wild and maintain the purposeful for a fruitful life.
Start with intention and your life will have all flavours in proportion you decide.
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Thank you for reading, and see you next Tuesday
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Lubo
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