Weeding the Garden

 I had a side yard which was greenish and lush - in a dusty, spiked way - with 4 and 5 foot weeds with deeply entrenched roots. It seemed like an overwhelming task to get rid of them effectively. I researched ways to kill them without using poison (ironic, considering the poison I regularly poured into my body, but I digress…). I settled on a technique I felt confident about, and was successful in killing them off. I cleared out the now dead weeds, and concentrated on my vision for my side yard garden path. Roses here, Lantana there, spring-blooming bulbs in scattered bunches, Jasmine by the rubbish bins, and space to compost. I held that vision in my mind’s eye, and made it happen. The ensuing roses left their lovely scent in my bedroom through the open window, the Lantana bloomed by the fence outside of the office window; loveliness to enjoy while at the desk. The heady scent of Jasmine overrode any odors from the trash.

I could then concentrate on other areas of my small yard: Operation Beautification, in full swing.

All of the hard work and attention I gave to the side yard paid off in both beauty and well-earned pride in a job well done, but the work was never completed. As I put my attention and energy into new projects, I had to equally revisit my side yard. The rose bushes had to be pruned, the aphids had to be dealt with, the boxwood had to be trimmed and shaped, and those damned, insistent weeds needed to be pulled out by their roots, while they were still a manageable size. As long as I maintained that side yard, it continued to delight me as I used it to go from my back yard to the front of my home.

I could so easily have looked at those weeds and been discouraged. I might have decided that it was all too much work - outside of my ability to change - and just lived with it.

I might have seen the weeds popping back and given up, losing the work I’d put into the vision I had for how it could be. I’m so grateful for the experience of having to continue to be vigilant, to know that weeds are opportunistic and would quickly overtake the ground without being dug out by their grabby little roots.

The maintenance became the work.

The maintenance of my connection with the Gardener of my life allows me to grow and blossom. The recognition of the weeds in my way of thinking, of responding, and of my actions, is mine to choose to uproot or to ignore.

My choice is to guard and protect the garden that has been so lovingly given to me.