3 Ways the Garden Teaches us How to Move on after a Storm
Just recently we experienced a storm. The winds caused most of the damage, upending and displacing 10 ft maple trees in large pots. After the storm had passed, our first, daunting responsibility was to pick up all of the trees. They were knocked over, laying on top of each other, and, in some cases, the rain from the storm had swollen the soil in the pots to such an extent that the pots cracked open, or even when stood up, because the soil had swelled, the trees toppled over almost immediately.
It is easy to feel overwhelmed by the post-storm cleanup process. Whether the storm is emotional, psychological, or a true natural disaster. It is also very understandable to feel like you shouldn’t have to clean up a mess you didn’t make. In fact, feelings of frustration, exhaustion, avoidance, sadness, anger and resentment are common when we face the aftermath of any destructive force.
Here is how the garden helps us understand those emotions as well as think more favorably about the cleanup process.
The garden reminds us that the storm isn’t personal.
We often struggle with storms because we take the presence of storms as a personal challenge to ourselves. The garden helps us remember that weather patterns and storms, exist without thought of us. In the same way, many emotional storms are not personal, though they affect us personally. Understanding that storms are not always personal helps us respond to them with the right amount of emotional detachment.
The garden reminds us that the clean-up process doesn’t have to happen overnight.
A garden isn’t built overnight, and when destroyed, it isn’t fixed overnight. Even if we are able to stand up everything that has been knocked down by a storm, the plants may take weeks to resemble their pre-storm stature. In the same way, as we go through emotional or personal storms, we are able to give ourselves the grace to allow our healing to take time.
The garden reminds us of the value of persistent positivity.
Recovering from a flood or any kind of natural or emotional disaster can feel absolutely impossible. Though we know that others have encountered disasters and have figured out how to carry on, we may doubt our own ability to recover. However, with a good attitude and persistence, we find that impossible tasks become possible. The garden helps us see that persistent positivity is all we need.
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Photo by Maciej Karoń on Unsplash