Dear Guaranty:
This time of year, most evenings will find me out in our vegetable garden and as I was working there the other night I got to thinking about how much growing a garden is a metaphor for life.
In order to have a good garden you need a lot of things, but one thing you have to have is good soil. Soil is the foundation of your garden, it holds the plants roots, gives them nourishment and holds the water the plants need to grow, just like our personal moral code or our character is the foundation of our lives. Some people think that you start a garden in the spring, but you really start your garden in the fall before, right after the last harvest, you take the plants down, add your compost and fertilizer and mix it all together to let it sit over the winter. That time of rest during the winter allows the soil to regenerate itself and create nutrients, just like our periods of rest and renewal allow us to continue our lives with new purpose and new energy. Then spring comes and it is time to plant, you prep your soil, smooth it out, plant your seeds and wait. In our lives, these are risks or chances we take to get ahead or try something new, a new job, or hobby, that is like planting a seed.
Then… the miracle happens. After days of watering and seeing nothing but bare dirt, you see a sprout, then another and another. Sometimes most of the seeds sprout, and sometimes few do, just like the risks we take, some work and some don’t but when it happens, it is always a blessing. Then it is time to water and weed, the care and feeding. One thing I have learned (the hard way I might add) is weeds. Weeds are the nemesis of any garden, they are natures bad habits and distractions, they come up from nowhere and unless you get rid of them, they will take over your garden and choke out all your plants. Some you can just cut out and they will not come back, and some must be pulled up by the roots but if you get on them early and stay on them, after a few weeks most of them are gone and it takes very little work after that, natures bad habits and distractions. Then, if you have created good soil, planted good seeds, watered and weeded diligently and had a bit of good weather (luck) along the way you get a harvest and that is the reward as every gardener will tell you.
So in your own lives, if you plan ahead, create a good foundation for yourself, take a risk, work hard, take care of yourself, keep your distractions to a minimum and manage your bad habits so they don’t overwhelm you, you too will get a good harvest.
Have a great week everybody.
Ed
