The Joy of Gardening

It is an amazing experience to watch any living organism grow, be it a pet, a plant, or even a baby! I don’t have any pets or babies but D and I are cultivating a number of plants this summer. A two minute, short walk from our apartment is our garden, courtesy the University’s friendly policy that allots land that we can use to cultivate flowers or vegetables. I must confess this was never my idea to begin with and I went along with D’s enthusiasm to grow our own food. She has toiled for the past two and half months since we have had the garden, ploughing the land, seeding, watering and tending to the plants. I only accompanied her on our evening walks and watched her water the plants, never once lifting a finger. About two weeks ago, I think the gardening bug bit me when I offered to help her clean out some weeds. Little did I know at that time what I was about to experience would be so profound that it would affect me deeply i.e. watching plants grow. It is an indescribable feeling if you consider how a tiny scrap of land, that you till and in which a seed is planted, breaks out to give a tiny leaf which then blossoms into a plant. There is a lot to appreciate in this beautiful gift of nature. The analogy to our own lives is remarkable, how we have come a long way from being ‘seeds’ our selves to mature independent trees ready to bear fruit.

In addition to the shear joy of gardening there is another aspect to it, the physical experience that gardening provides is also amazing that one must only experience this to believe it. Talk about bearing the fruit of one’s own labor. This has made me realize that how learned and successful one gets in life and how much ever money one makes there are actually very small and invaluable moments that nature provides for free! These are what I call the simple pleasures and joys of life.