Weeding Life’s Garden

Congratulations my friend, for graduating from the Spring of your life and into its Summer. Gone are the days of rainbows and buttercups. Now the weeds and storm clouds have found their way into the magical garden of childhood.

But do not despair! Granted they are many, but they are only clouds and weeds. You have been well prepared! Now is the time to begin using those lessons ingrained by loving parents, wizened mentors, and fastidious teachers. It is an exciting time, a time to accept the responsibility of tending your own little plot, for it is not age that makes us adult, it is the willingness and ability to accept responsibility. Coming soon is the time for you to step out alone, to discover who you are, to ferret out new ideas, to plan for your own future rather than having it planned out for you. And now is the time to begin seeing life on this Earth for what it truly is, a roller coaster ride of mountains and valleys, pleasures and pains, loves and losses.

I can offer little advice. The world you are growing into will be significantly different than the one I grew into, just as mine was different than the one my grandparents grew into, but there is one thing that does not change despite the times... the people who inhabit that world.

Someday (and that day will come way too soon), if you have taken your lessons to heart, you may stand where I do, entering the Winter of your life, looking back. When that day comes, you will want to be able to reminisce with pride on decisions made with a kind heart, and a clear head. I am not saying there will not be regrets. There will be. We make too many important decisions throughout our lives to be free of regrets, but if you err on the side of right, if you face your fears head on, if your education is unending, and your faith unbending (be it in God, yourself, or both) you will always stand tall amongst those around you.

The little advice I have to offer is this; whatever becomes your lot, or your “garden”... attack it with vigor. Educate yourself about it. Learn all that you can. Ask questions, read manuals, study it’s history. Work harder at it than those around you, and work longer. Spend the most of your time in the places you are the least comfortable. Show up every day. Care. Put in the time. You will not always be the smartest, but you can outwork, and outhustle those who are smarter. I have heard that “you determine your value” but it is too vague. “You” is only a sack of skin and bones. It is your decisions, your actions, and your attitude that determine your value, just as those are the things that determine your happiness.

You may not love what you do, not everyone does, but love can be found in the labor. The harder you work at something, the better you become at it. The more efficient you become, the more pride you take in doing it. Pride and efficiency at any endeavor, be it writing, farming, plumbing, or tech, will carry you far, and will improve your life, and in so doing will improve the lives of those you love. When you reach that point, you will have earned your place, and your plot.

There is my advice. My little secret. It has worked well for me, and for many others... and it can for you.

Good luck to you as your calendar flips, and godspeed!