Watching the grass grow

I love this time of year. The crocuses, daffodils and hyacinths have bloomed and faded. The flowering trees are beginning to leaf out, along with all the other trees in my neighborhood: oaks, maples, elms, sycamores and more. Although Memorial Day is just a week away, I can still remember the cold and ice and snow vividly enough to be glad it's over until next winter (you can tell I live in the Northeast since I'm still not 100% sure).

And, so we've been in the yard, planting annuals, tending perennials, reworking the herb garden, and mulching everywhere. And, planting grass. And all of that led me to thinking what a great metaphor gardening is for life with all of its cycles of blooming, dying and rebirth, successes and failures, rethinking old ideas that once worked and rebuilding new ones for the current realities.

And, of course, I realized in that moment that it's not a metaphor at all. It is life and we are simply an integral part of life. It's just that we forget that sometimes; as the observer, we forget that we are part of that which we observe.

So, the lessons remain. Life -- you -- goes through cycles. Some of them are regular, repeatable, dependable. And some are good for the time being but will grow outdated and need to be dug up, sifted, discarded and reworked.

Tend to your life like a garden. Sure, it could carry on without your attention. Life is like that -- it has its own energy. But, with understanding and focus and patience, you can plan and nurture those things you want to grow in your future. And, as time goes on, you can prune, tend, transplant, replace and plant again to create just the life you want and need at the time. There's something to be said for just watching the grass grow.