Pruning hurts.
Pruning helps you grow.
quote / saying by Emilie Barnes
This morning I pulled several handfuls of baby carrots from the garden. The curly green tops were like froth against the dark earth and I felt like a robber come too soon as I eased the tiny, brilliant infants from their moist, dark mother. I would have gladly left them there to enjoy another day in the sun, to be blessed again at evening by the chance of rain, to push their delicate roots against the forgiving soil as there leafy tops broadened under the shelter of neighboring tomatoes. I would have except … the carrot patches were so thick, so densely packed with other carrots that I had to choose – who would go and who would stay – for the benefit of all.
Leaving them all in place would – most certainly – spell a dismal future for all. In allowing every carrot seedling to remain, they all would face the doom of overcrowding and the result would have been a poorer crop in the long run for me (and for them). Painful as it is in some ways to pluck out carrots before they are big enough to be more than a fleeting sweet taste on the tongue, it’s a necessary task for the mindful gardener …
Creating space for growth was my goal.
Good fortune and good gardening habits at sowing time meant that all but the tiniest vermilion slivers have at least a momentary value, as visual and gustatory treats. To prolong the visual delight, I ran for my camera in the softness of the early morning light.
Plus, a few of the newly unearthed gems will grace tonight’s dinner salad – something I’m already looking forward to with anticipation and delight.
As for the ones left behind: there will now be room for a greater number of long, straight spears of carroty goodness. Simple as that.
While moving through the paces of this dance of green and brown and gold, I couldn’t help but think of analogies to life and business. The successes we strive for on a daily basis are rich with possibilities and if we are open to options, we all inevitably fall prey from time to time to the dangers of over-crowding. In other words, too much of a good thing can be harmful to our growth. Too much information, too many options, too many opinions, too many questions … all of which may have great value, but when piled one against the other and one atop the other, can smother all but the best of our intentions and rob us of vital life-enhancing energy and room to expand.
The carrots have it easy. No worries …. just keep growing until the master gardener frees them from the ground. If you want to have a full-time job with a boss always there to tell you when and where to direct your energies, that can be arranged no doubt. Lots of people for that job who would love to get their hands on your carroty, creative juices.
But if you want instead to be your own master gardener, in charge of your own destiny, than you must accept the blessings and the curse of tending your own plot of soil.
Lucky you … free to choose what to leave in the garden for deeper nurturing and what to let go of! Though if we’re at all alike you may at times feel the pressure of “so many good ideas, so little time!” I speak from a lifetime of experience here: learning to decide what to give your energy to and what to get rid of can at times be extremely difficult.
But if there’s one life lesson to learn from the garden today, it’s this: have faith! Know that whatever you choose to nurture in your internal garden has value and by continuing to believe in yourself and the seeds and projects within you, life will bring you good harvest. Plus you might even be able to enjoy a few treats along the way from the early thinning of your efforts.
Not everything has to reach full size to taste wonderful!
Blessings on your day and may you be inspired by the delights of your own garden, whatever its form may be,
Buff Elting
All photos are the authors own, all rights reserved.
/0.jpg" alt="YouTube Preview Image" />
19. August 2010
0 Comments