New Life

"A garden gives the body the dignity of working in its own support. It is a way of rejoining the human race."

-Wendell Berry

The first sprouts of the year

There is just something amazing about gardening. You stick a tiny seed in some dirt, and in time, new life emerges. It's funny that you can get so much joy out of something you had so little to do with. You can maintain the soil over the winter, amend it in the spring, and add water after you've planted. But you have ZERO control over the plant actually coming out of the ground. No amount of scientific knowledge, research, or preparation can make something grow. It is completely out of your hands. There is a feeling of equal parts satisfaction and hopelessness as you gaze out over your planted garden. You can't help but feel fulfilled knowing how much time and work you have put in to ensure the best possible environment for your crops. But you also can't help feeling terrified knowing you have no influence over weather, animals, germination, or any other number of variables. There's a lesson to be learned in there somewhere. Not sure I'm smart enough to figure out what it is, though. I think I'll end now with something that really resonates with me as the sprouts are just starting to poke through the ground.

"However many years she lived, Mary always felt that 'she should never forget that first morning when her garden began to grow'."-Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden