A Different Kind of Gardening

Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.

--Marcel Proust

As I've been sifting through my great collections of quotes this month, looking for those that inspire thoughts of gratitude, I found the one above by Marcel Proust.  This quote resonates with me, in particular.  Not just because of the gardener allegory (although, of course, that definitely caught my attention), but because I really like the idea of . . . souls blossoming!

The quote got me thinking . . . about what is it, exactly, that makes a flower garden blossom.  Good roots, healthy plants, rich soil, enough water, sunshine and light, careful tending by dedicated gardeners.  And . . . a fair bit of luck and serendipity, mixed with some plain old resilience!  (Because gardens can surprise us by blossoming through neglect, too.)

It really is like that with our "soul gardens," too . . . isn't it?  It seems that soul gardens blossom in much the same way.  Good roots, healthy plants, rich soil, enough water, sunshine and light, careful tending by dedicated gardeners.  And . . . a fair bit of luck and serendiptiy, mixed with some plain old resilience!  (Because souls can surprise us by blossing through neglect, too.)

So, today, think about the "gardeners" in your own life . . . those who make your soul blossom.  The folks who help you put down roots.  Those who amend the soil so those roots can take hold and grow strong.  The people who provide beams of light and drinks of water just when you need them most. 

Today . . . be grateful . . . for the gardeners in your life.

(And, conversely, remember that YOU are a gardener, too!  You never know when you might be a ray of sunshine or a drop of water . . . coaxing another bloom from someone's soul.)

Comments

[margene]

You are the perfect gardener as you sow seeds of love and encouragement while you go through your day. Thank you for sharing your sunshine.

[Patty]

Absolutely what Margene said. You bring some needed depth to my thought process that's for sure!

[Marilyn]

I hadn't thought of it as gardening but I've thought much about how all of us blog friends touch each others lives even though we are so far apart and have never met each other in person. But we water and support and even prune each other!

[Carole]

I'm all verklempt over this one. I'm thinking about my newly rediscovered family and my husband and people at work and I'm recognizing that I have a lot of soul gardeners. You are one of them, too, my friend.

[Sharon R]

Wonderful analogy, Kym. And food for thought, too. Right now, I'm doing some pruning. Cutting away those that are hindering growth and productivity. Just as with trees and plants, sometimes you have to cut deeply in order for the plant to thrive in the future.

[Brenda]

Wonderful post, Kym! The Jungian psychotherapist, Clarissa Pinkola Estes, in her book, Women Who Run with the Wolves, at one point uses a garden metaphor to illustrate that just like a healthy garden, we can't always be in full bloom, and that we need to appreciate all the stages of the garden, including a time to be fallow.

Of course, I just put in a lemon tree that can have blossoms and ripe fruit on the tree at the same time, so perhaps I didn't learn her lesson!

[Mary]

oh kym - what lovely thoughts...you certainly are blessed with a green thumb to blossom plants and souls. not me...except maybe (I hope) the soul part!

[Cookie]

I love this. The quote and your spin on it. I have a friend who owns her own business. She said that she has two kinds of clients. The flowers and the weeds. Your post reminded me of that. *L*

I would not survive without those who help my soul bloom. xo