A couple of weeks ago, my thoughts turned toward the small garden that I have at the back of our home. Although it was still bitterly cold at the time (it’s still not warm enough yet), Spring is just around the corner and I was thinking about what I will be planting this year.
Over the years, I usually plant tomatoes along with a few vegetables - sweet and spicy peppers mostly. But I didn’t plant anything last year. I left the soil fallow so that it could recover from years of annual planting. I did that because of what happened two years ago during that planting season.
I typically grow two tomato plants each year. Because tomatoes are acidic, I rotate the specific spots in which they’re planted in the garden. Despite doing this two years ago, one of the tomato plants produced only a handful of fruit. It didn’t germinate well despite being given the same care and attention as the other one. I tried all I knew to do but nothing worked.
That was a frustrating experience for me. I felt like I could have done something different to help that plant flourish. But the fact was that it actually received extra care than the other one - which had produced a lot of fruit. Yet, it didn’t produce to the level of my expectations.
As I pondered this a few weeks ago, my thought soon wandered to how this seems to parallel our expectations in life.
I couldn’t help but be amazed at how much we humans are full of ourselves in many areas of life. We pride ourselves as achievers. We think we get things done. We believe our successes in life are the results of our diligence and dedication. We make things happen.
But do we?
My conclusion is that we really do not make anything happen. I’m sure you’re now wondering if I’ve gone crazy! And that may well be true. But please hear me out for a moment.
Here’s what I know. We have learned from experience the combination of things to do to get what we want out of life. But we don’t really MAKE anything happen, do we?
I don’t MAKE the plants in my garden grow. I CAN’T make them grow. I have no such power. Neither does any farmer. What I have learned is that I give my plants the greatest chance of growing and producing fruits when I take good care of them by watering and clearing the weeds that want to choke them.
And there are times when even that’s not enough - just like my stunted tomato plant from two years ago. All I can do after doing all I know to do is wait and let the laws of nature take over. I can’t make them grow faster. And I can’t make them produce good fruits in abundance.
For many of us, that’s all we need to do after doing all that we know to do. Simply wait.
If you’re dealing with losses in your life right now, do all you know to do; then simply wait.
If that promotion you’re expecting is taking longer to manifest despite all you’ve done; wait.
If you’re overwhelmed by all that’s happening around you, making you feel you don’t have control; just wait. You were really never in control to begin with. If you were truly in control, you would make things happen by fiat. Being overwhelmed would then be out of the question.
I want to be clear that this is not an excuse to be lazy and become complacent with mediocrity. You cannot reap good fruits if you’re lazy about taking care of the plant. That will result in a guaranteed crop failure.
But when you’ve done all you know to do, and you’re constantly challenging yourself to grow, learn trying new and better approaches to doing a better job than before, all you can do is to wait. As you wait, don’t allow the negativity of the situation weigh you down.
What I’m offering here is counsel against worry and anxiety about something that’s out of your control. Rest in the fact that you have done all you know and need to do. See the period as a waiting season - when your plant is growing and getting ready to produce fruit.
Know that the harvest is coming. Be expectant of a great harvest. Be optimistic and don’t let the prolonged season of germination flood your mind with negative thoughts.
Remember that what you think about, you bring about. That’s the law of attraction.