I'm no gardener by any stretch of the imagination, but I am fascinated with the similarities between a garden and our lives. While we could put the smallest gardening effort on hold without any serious consequences, there's no way we can put off taking care of our lives and not experience the backlash. So, like a conscientious gardener we need to cultivate our lives to reap the best fruits and enjoy the beauty.
Rainy days may keep you from heading outside with straw hat and gardening tools. But they are the perfect days to sit inside and do some work on your life. So grab your favourite drink and snack, curl up with your journaling tools and cultivate your life.
Weed
Sometimes it seems they pop up overnight. Unlike some plants that struggle to survive, lose the battle, shrivel and die, garden weeds are indomitable. They anchor themselves in any kind of soil and withstand extreme weather conditions.
Life weeds such as feeling overwhelmed with responsibilities at home and at work, financial problems, difficult relationships, health concerns and so on, rear their ugly heads and choke the good and positive things in our lives.
Some life weeds have tap roots; they burrow straight down and deep. They pierce and break our hearts. Others with fibrous roots fan out and filter through the network of our lives infecting and poisoning all that is good and positive.
They create havoc in every situation and relationship, turning our lives upside down and inside out. They loom above other minor life weeds and force us to set aside legitimate concerns so we can cater to their demands for our undivided attention.
Life weeds sprout and flourish anywhere. They cling to us like parasites. They suck us dry and leave us listless and passive in our own lives.
With a discerning eye and a prayerful heart identify the weeds that are flourishing, clogging your life pores, complicating your relationships and smothering your dreams. Don't deal only with what is on the surface. Dig to the roots of the weeds in your life and get rid of them to allow the free entry and flow of all that is good and beautiful.
Water
We know of course that too much water can drown even moisture-loving plants. So we are often advised to water our gardens regularly with a moderate supply to keep the soil moist and the plants healthy and alive.
When we get lost in the rush of daily living, it is easy to allow our personal lives to languish in the neglect caused by whatever turmoil may be commanding our attention or the heat of busyness and burnout.
It is honourable that we take care of our responsibilities to our families, our jobs and other areas as well. However, when we don't pay attention to our personal lives: health, leisure activities, our dreams and other personal interests, we are delinquent gardeners of the lives we've been given.
We water our lives when we take time to nurture ourselves with quiet time to pray, meditate, read, plan, dream and lose ourselves in the activities that we enjoy.
Are you drowning your life with too much of a good thing or killing your life slowly by leaving it to languish, dehydrated and starved of crucial life-saving nutrients?
Wait
A well-cultivated garden does not materialize overnight. It takes time so we must be patient. Once you have done your part you need to step back and wait for the seeds to germinate.
Are you anxiously pacing the floor in anticipation of some outcome? It won't arrive any sooner because your heart beats faster, your palms sweat, you don't sleep and can't function normally.
Waiting is not as tough as we make it out to be. See the waiting period as an opportunity to prepare, to pray, to practice a little self-pampering, to revel in quality time with your loved ones, etc.
Wonder
When was the last time you basked in the wonder of your garden? Don't say that you have only a small garden and a lone lime tree. Whatever stage your garden may be in today, take a moment to appreciate it, just as it is and wonder at its possibilities.
When last did you stand in wonder at your life? Of course these days, many would be quick to shout, “Wonder at what? Things are so bad I just want to crawl under a rock and not come out until 2020.”
Is there not one small aspect of your life that you can appreciate? Are there no blessings? Do you have no one who makes you happy, makes your heart sing, and makes your life better, brighter and worthwhile?
Have you been enjoying fruits of your labour? Did you talk to a friend, receive a smile or kind word from a co-worker, a fellow commuter or a stranger today? Did your children kiss you goodbye before they left for school? Those are things to wonder at, to appreciate.
Don't take your life for granted. Don't neglect it either. Luckily, you don't have to wait for a sunny day to do some gardening in your own life. With the discerning eye of the careful gardener, rid your life of the weeds that are running rampant, water regularly with time for the things you enjoy and the people your love. Wait patiently for new growth of opportunities and wonder at the blessings that abound.
Be a diligent gardener and cultivate a purposeful, productive and happy life.
译文:
耕耘人生
无论从哪一层来讲，我都不是园丁，但我却沉醉于一个遐想——园艺与人生。尽管我们会试图付出最少的努力而无碍结果，但是想摆脱生活却又不遭遇挫折是绝对不可能的。做一个又责任心的园丁吧，我们需要耕种自己的人生，然后收获并享用最美的的果实。
雨天，你也许不能戴上草帽拿着出锄头出门劳作，然而，这也是难得的时间，可以让你足不出户，品味人生。拾起你最喜欢的饮料和点心，打点行装，准备去耕耘我们的人生。
播种
有的时侯，似乎是在一夜之间它们露出头来。某些植物为了生存努力挣扎战斗，却最终以失败告终，枯萎死亡。生命的种子不同，它可以牢牢地植根于任何土壤，抵御极端恶劣的天气。
因家庭和工作的责任，经济问题，棘手的关系，健康隐忧等问题产生压抑感，有些生命的种子会扬起那丑恶的嘴脸，破坏生命中一切美好正义的东西。
有些生命种子将自己的主根深深地埋植于地下,它们刺入其它生命的心并撕裂它们。其它的则张开根须渗入生活，影响和毒害所有正义和美好的。
他们利用每一个机会和条件，将我们的生活搞的天翻地覆。他们在我们生命的薄弱处凸显，迫使我们把重要的考虑放在一边，以此来满足自己被关注的渴望。
生命的种子随时随地可以生根发芽。他们像寄生动物那样与我们密不可分。因它们的贪婪，我们的生命变得消沉被动。
凭着敏锐的眼光和悲悯之心，他们生机勃勃，阻碍你的呼吸，使你的周边环境变复杂，抹平你的梦想。不要仅凭外在的直观的去判断，深入到你生命的根须看看，剔除坏的不好的，让你生命中的美好自由呼吸和流淌。
浇水
我们都知道：即便是喜湿植物，过多的水也会导致死亡，所以经常有人告诫我们要给花园定期浇适量的水，以保证土壤的湿润，使植物可以更健康更有活力。
当你迷失在为每日生计的奔忙中，混乱攫住你的注意力，极度的忙碌与平静，这些都很容易让个人在自我忽视的生活中受辱。
我们认真担负家庭工作以及其它的重任，这很值得赞赏。然而，当我们闷忽略个人的生活，健康，休闲，梦想以及个人的爱好时，我们就不是自己生命花园的合格的园丁。
我们浇灌生命。我们花费时间来滋养生命，在宁静的时间祈祷，沉思，阅读，规划，梦想，沉浸于自己的喜悦中。
你属于那一种呢？沉醉于自己生命的美好，或是一步步把自己的生命带进痛苦，看它逐渐失水丧失营养死亡。
等待
一个好的园丁不会揠苗助长，而会耐心等待，因此我们必须有耐心。一旦你做完了自己应该做的，那就退后一步，耐心等待种子发芽。
你是否会因对结果的期盼而焦虑不安？即便是你心跳加速，手心出汗，彻夜难眠，结果也不会因此过早地到来。
等待并不像你期盼结果那样困难。把等待视为一次机会，一次准备，祈祷，给自我小小的放纵的机会，一次与你所爱的人狂欢的机会。
冥想
还记得上次在阳光下回想你的花园是何时吗？不要说你只有一个小小的花园和一棵棕榈树。时至今天无论你的花园是怎样的规模，都花一点时间去欣赏它，任自己的思绪飘飞。
还记得上次你驻足思考是何时吗？在想什么呢？事情如此糟糕，我只想躲在暗处永不露头。
难道你的生命就没有一面值得欣赏吗？从未被眷顾过吗？没有一个人曾使你快乐，使你的心灵歌唱，使你的生活更加美好，光明和有意义吗?
你曾经品尝过自己的劳动成果吗？你曾经同你的朋友交谈过，或者从一个陌生人那里得到一个微笑或是只言片语的祝福吗？你的孩子在上学前会吻你跟你道别吗？这一切都值得思考和回味。
既不要想当然地对待你的生活，也不要忽视它的存在。我们不需要想真正的园丁那样等到晴天来料理自己的花园，这很值得庆幸。以一个细心的园丁那敏锐的眼光在你的生活中播撒种子，及时给予那些你爱的人以照顾和关爱，耐心等待机遇的到来和福祉的降临。
做一个辛勤的园丁吧，耕种自己幸福，圆满的生活。