Garden Stories

It's a beautiful summer's morning this early Sunday morning, and I share the quiet stillness with only a few song birds. Even the wind is silent, save for the odd rustle at treetop height, those upper brances currently crowned in sunshine, the long cool shade below keeps the morning dew on the grass.

A cup of coffee enjoyed in moments like these, helps one slow down to a more natural rythym; a return to center for the soul after the hurried week of 9 to 5, which for most has become from morning till night. Watching the little garden spider weave its perfect web between the jewel-like shine of the stained glass dragonfly and the the smaller golden gazing orb in the flowerbed, you wonder if nature intended for clocks to be invented, for time to be captured and kept prisoner in an a never-ending spiral. Is there a deadline for that web? Penalties if it doesn't get finished before the shadows slip past and it takes the full assault of the midday heat?

I suspect we all crave control, of even the smallest details in our lives, and it's that craving, that desire for certainty in something, anything, that brings about our quest for peace of mind. But maybe it isn't 'peace' of mind we seek so much as the ability to know that whatever we are doing right now is what we should be doing, not worrying about any of the multitude of items on our lists of things to do, those yet undone actions that if left unthought of might threaten to topple our day.

Afterall, all we really NEED to do in the next moment is breathe.

Beyond that we have choices of actions, a 'choose-your-own-adventure' book that becomes the story of your life. For some it helps to believe that no matter which page they choose next to turn, the outcome of the story remains unchanged; predetermined before the introduction. For others every turn of the page leads to new discoveries and an abundance of possibilities, and though they know not where they may end up, they've learned to never ask what-if about the choices they've made, knowing you can't be focussed on the road ahead with one eye in the rear view mirror.

Most of us however, are more likely oblivious to the pages in our story; that we even have the ability to turn them at all, instead we're mired in the day-to-day details that create a story of survival, instead of writing a tale of adventure and discovery. And feeling powerless and not in control, we flail, instead of taking certain action, and find ourselves hurried and stressed and exhausted from our struggles.

Just breathe.

And then decide.

We have that power at our command, every moment of every day. It's our constant companion, available whenever we need it, whenever we feel lost or swamped or all alone. Take a step, a baby step at first if you're unsure, but trust that you are heading the direction you need to move. Secure in the knowledge that you are making a choice, a decision that will open doors of possibilities and adventure, if you are willing to see them. Every moment is overflowing with opportunity.

Seize it, and like my little garden spider, let's see what kind of amazing web you can weave.