There she is, standing for hours; pruning a single fern that no one else will notice. Just standing and picking, picking and perfecting, for hours on that one little flower, that one little aspect of her lawn that no one else even seems to notice. In fact, when the watchful observer spots her on the way to meet friends for dinner and sees her again working tirelessly on that same spot upon returning, nothing is noticeably different. All seems as it was before. Yet, for the faithful gardener a state of perfection is finally reached and she may retire yet again to her home. Hours of work, hours of her life that is to the observer wasted, has ended in sweet success to the gardener.
But, still…hours...? On a single fern...? On any single plant…? Really…? Is that necessary!?
And then I’m reminded how much of our lives are spent gardening our own single ferns. Those little things we place so much importance on that no one else even seems to notice. Sometimes it’s a physical attribute, sometimes it’s academia, sometimes it’s relationships with our family or friends, sometimes it’s one thing at which we failed or that one success. We stand and prune and pick away to perfect that one little thing. Do we ignore bigger things in the process? Do we forget to focus on our whole existence? Too busily slaving away for sweet success in something that doesn’t matter? Or, is that one sweet success what it’s all about?
Wow, how true is that. I can just sit here and think of dozens of examples in my own life where I've tried to pick and perfect something for hours, days, even years. I think we do ignore many of the bigger things in the process, and because of that we miss alot of the important things in life.
ReplyDeleteLife is like a taxi. The meter just keeps a-ticking whether you are getting somewhere or just standing still. -- Lou Erickso