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*********' wrote...
Do you wish to be listed anonymously? No
Which area is your meta4 useful in? Alopecia
(premature hair loss)
Which country? USA
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I'm not sure why but I'm reminded of something that
happened to me last summer. It was an awful experience,
but I'm happy to report that this story has a happy
ending.
I'm a very inexperienced gardener, but I recently
bought a house with a lawn, so last summer I decided
the best way to learn about caring for the garden
was by taking action. The first task I set for myself
was to fertilize the lawn. I went to a nearby nursery
and talked at some length with people there about
my options. I did a lot of research.
I finally decided I could handle renting a machine
that would dispense the fertilizer as it is pushed
along. So I was given instructions in using the equipment,
purchased a sack of ferftilizer, and headed home to
try out my green thumb.
I loaded the spreader and began walking along, feeling
very good about spending time taking care of myself
and my home in this way. But after a few minutes,
I noticed with alarm that most of the fertilizer had
been distributed. I did not know much about gardening,
but I knew something was wrong. I went inside and
called for help.
That was a good decision because the nursery people
were quite helpful. They asked me to bring in the
machine, which they adjusted, and gave me a new bag
of fertilizer. They also told me how I could repair
what had gone wrong.
I started off again with a little less enthusiasm
and more caution. Unfortunately, the same thing happened
again. I was horrified. Even though I tried to even
things out, spreading the fertilizer as best I could,
I had a terrible feeling inside that there would be
permanent damage. Sure enough, in the next few days,
big brown patches appeared in the lawn. The grass
disappeared as if the blades had been burned away.
I was devasted.
Each time I came out of the house, I imagined that
my neighbors were laughing at me, or at least judging
me, for this eyesore. Their lawns looked so immaculate
by comparison that I felt humiliated. I asked many
people for advice and each one had different ideas.
None of them seemed particularly helpful until one
neighbor said to me, "The same thing happened to me
once. It was horrible. I suffered terribly but then
I realized that this sort of thing happens in nature
all the time. There are fires and grassland and trees
are destroyed. But the wonderful thing about nature
is that it restores itself. What is lost will grow
back. Just be patient. You'll see."
So I tried to hold those hopeful thoughts for the
rest of the summer as I watered faithfully every day.
Each day I checked those spots carefully, looking
for new growth. Yet as the weeks went by, the surface
stil looked barren and awful, a shadow of its former
self. I began to despair again.
Just as I was about to do something drastic like
ripping the whole thing out and starting all over
again, I noticed some little green shoots one morning.
I was filled with relief and joy. As I continued to
nurture this new growth, I thought to myself, "The
problem was that I was focusing more on what I had
lost, rather than on the new growth that was trying
to happen." And, you know, that experience taught
me a lot. My lawn is lush and geen again, even though
it took longer than I would have liked. I learned
to trust that nature will meet me at least halfway...
and that its power to regenerate itself is stronger
than my despair.
Thanks Maggie Phillips.
This metaphor is taken from the book entitled 'Finding
the Energy to Heal' by Maggie Phillips. Reprinted
with kind permission.
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