Ending the Year with Gratitude to me means…
Life is a journey of cycles for all of us and the closing of each year reminds me of that. As a gardener in my free time and a landscape contractor by trade the cycles of life are not only easily evident but essential to follow which often allow me to witness the bigger picture on this journey. Plants have a time of growth and a time for rest just as we do but it seems much more clear cut and simple for the plants. I’m grateful to be able to work with them and thus be reminded of this simplicity daily.
Unlike us plants don’t need to strive to make the cycles work for them. As seeds they simply germinate sinking roots deeply in whatever soil is below and begin the process of putting on foliage then flowers and later fruit. Working closely with plants is teaching me that letting go of the striving in my life often makes for a more peaceful and productive journey. When I accept that I am right where I am supposed to be either growing roots or coming into flower then there is no need for me to strive either. Everything happens in its own right time if I can just remember to surrender to life’s timing rather than trying to force life to follow mine.
I’m thankful each winter that the bare trees and brown grass are there to remind me that this dormancy is only a rest before the new, sharp, green of spring returns. So, it may be the dead of winter but I can look upon it as just one more necessary part of the growing cycle for both me and the plants. Without the times of rest and dormancy there is no place for renewal and rejuvenation. I’ll take this time to slow down and ponder the end of one cycle, be grateful for the lessons of clarity that come with surrender and trust that the next step on this journey will be the start of another new cycle.
