Spring is here, and that means planting season for all the green thumbs out there. Even if you’re not inclined to gardening, the following life lessons still hold meaning both in and out of the garden.
1. Have Faith in Something Greater
Reality: When you plant a seed in the earth, you don’t know how that sprout grows, or whether it will grow at all.
Takeaway: Every sprout is a miracle. Every seed is just untapped potential, waiting to come to life. There is a little bit of faith that goes into each planting, which makes the act that much more significant.
2. Patience Is a Virtue
Reality: Waiting for something to sprout can take time and a lot of patience. Some seeds take longer than others.
Takeaway: Sometimes we can do everything right to give seeds what they need, but it’s not up to us to decide when they are ready to show themselves. Patience is key here.
3. Witnessing Something From the Beginning of Its Life
Reality: Daily watering, feeding, fertilizing, and pruning are just some of the tasks that go into maintaining a garden.
Takeaway: When that seed does finally sprout, it never fails to take my breath away. Watching a plant grow from a seed in your hand to a seedling to a bigger plant that produces fruit or blooms, then cultivating it as it continues through its life cycle is splendid indeed.
4. Failure Is a Stepping Stone
Reality: Sometimes seeds don’t take and you have to keep trying again to grow something. Or maybe an animal may come and eat your plants, requiring you to start over.
Takeaway: Gardening teaches us that it’s okay to fail as long as we are trying, and trying again.
5. Being Grateful for What Nature Provides for Us—Beauty & Food
Reality: Nature constantly provides us with the beauty of the earth in the form of flowers or edible plants.
Takeaway: It can be easy to take nature for granted when plants bloom from seed without a second thought. But when we take a moment to revel in the colors, take a deep breath, and truly marvel at the goodness of nature, do we feel truly blessed.
