Serenity

The garden was a very quiet place today. Due to teacher’s work day school was out. The lack of small feet shuffling in the corridors or songs carrying from the playground cursed the gardened into a simple hush today. Everything was bright green and growing steadily in the silence but without children the school felt surreal. We spent some time surveying the growth and took a moment to stand back to truly appreciate how far the garden has come in these first few weeks of school. The colors in the beds felt amplified to me due to the lack of movement around us. My eyes carried from bed to bed assessing each plant and its counterparts who have become part of who I am and what I believe it. But then I found myself contemplating if it was the garden has become part of me or if it is I who has become part of them. After contemplating the interesting concept of belongings I realize everything belongs as it is and nothing truly ever belongs to an individual. We may work in the garden but it too works for us by growing and blooming, and along the same lines we belong to the team who creates and nurtures the garden but really the truth is we belong in the garden and in turn the garden belongs with us. I had a beautiful moment of true serenity surveying the garden after a peaceful afternoon rain shower. I felt proud and part of something more important than I had anticipated. Finally I came to the realization that the garden is as much a teaching tool as it is an escape. And it has certainly become an escape for me to reflect on my thoughts and life.