Lessons for life I learnt while gardening
There is a lot to learn — even from your backyard garden.
Last year I came home to my parents as soon as the lockdown started. It was a very uncertain time. With no clarity of going back and a country-wide lockdown, I was unsure about going back but was sure that I was going to spend a lovely time with my parents.
My hometown is a small city in Western India — Kota. We have a huge garden surrounding our home which was mostly managed by the gardener. Everyone at my home used to be busy with their work. But now, lockdown restricted us into our homes and gave me an opportunity. I started gardening a lot — reading articles, watching videos, talking to my gardener — it was an amazing experience. How I grew 20 varieties of exotic vegetables and herbs in the dry parts of India is another story. But, in this journey of gardening for a year, I learnt lessons that mother nature taught me, rather subtly.
Sometimes, all you need is a direction
Vines can grow rapidly. Some of them grow up to inches in a matter of days. I found a small vine trying to wrap itself around a huge tree to grow. So, I got a rope, tied it to the vine and gave the vine a direction to grow. The growth was unimaginable. In a matter of days, it doubled its size!
Lesson learnt —
Getting a direction in life is important. We see people following their passion but how do we find that passion? Like the vine, try to wrap yourself around any opportunity you see. If you can grow in that direction then try to climb up. If not, try another way. It is just a direction that we need and it can lead us to a better place quickly. It goes without saying that if you have grown in a direction like that tree, then you should provide mentorship to the little vines that want to grow in the same direction.
If the roots are strong, then setbacks turn into comebacks
Every time we saw a plant growing beyond what we needed, it had to be trimmed. Not uprooted, but trimmed. But whenever we tried to trim it, it used to grow back. Over time we were able to control the plant’s height but the base and roots did not stop growing.
Lesson learnt —
When situations try to trim our growth, we need to strengthen our roots and come back with a stronger power.
A tree with fruits has to lower its heights — or it might break under its own weight
This has been an old saying in Indian culture. But I saw this in front of my own eyes. One of our trees gives a LOT of fruits every year. It gives so many fruits that the huge tree bends down due to the weight of the fruits. This makes it easier for us to grab them. This year, I saw a big chunk of the tree breaking away due to the heavy weight of its fruits.
Lesson learnt —
If we are blessed enough to reach heights in our field, we should help out others too. Guide, mentor or support in any way, just don’t enjoy the fruits alone.
No one has ever become poor by giving — Anne Frank.
Importance of watering every day
In dry weather, watering the grass is very important. Even if you miss out on 2 days, the lush green grass turns into dry yellow patches. In weather like 50-degree Celsius, this makes sense.
Lesson learnt —
We need to water ourselves daily. Our souls, body, skills and relationships. If you are a programmer, you need to practice daily, if you’re an athlete you need to train daily. We may not see the results immediately, but with those small steps, we will turn ourselves into the lush green patches in the garden of life.
