For those of us that don't do this naturally (usually glass half-empty thinkers), we need to learn these love laws and practice them more intentionally. I have chosen to explore the metaphor of EDEN, also known as the Garden of Eden. It’s all about love. The children were roses grown in concrete gardens, beautiful and forlorn. Roads. In the same way, you need to build a strong foundation for your dreams. Instead, you have to ask yourself what type of garden you want, the purpose you want your garden to serve, what you want to grow in your garden, and how you want your garden laid out. Different plants need different environments to thrive. Most people are thrown to the wind when it comes to relationships and have no idea that Love Laws even exist, let alone knowing which ones to follow. You can’t force these things to happen. It started out as paradise. Beauty is the Mistress, the Gardener Her Slave. Have a Vision for Your Garden. What if you could learn the "Love Laws" that would help you open your heart so that you could feel more love, attraction, and connection with your partner? Jeff Cox Tweet this Quote! If I don't feed and fuel my love by recognizing the good things about my partner and our dance, the darkness will grow like a virus and eventually kill what is in its path. So, what do you want your garden to look like? Part of HuffPost News. Source: Gear & Puzzle Metaphor illustration by SlideModel. Below you’ll find 10 life lessons you can learn from gardening. In addition, the environment that you find yourself in will have an enormous impact on whether or not you’ll be able to achieve your goals. Love is the reward. . The environment I was in was simply not conducive to change or improvement. They do this by adding compost, manure, and other nutrients to the soil in order to create an environment that is conducive to vibrant growth. We think we made a mistake. Prune trees, shrubs, and bushes—cut away dead or overgrown branches or stems. And perhaps we're not meant to navigate relationships alone. See more ideas about life, inspirational quotes, life quotes. Mother Nature is in charge. Godlywoman My name is J.G ️ God is still at work in me, molding me into a woman He wants me to be. Gardeners know that they reap what they sow. The answer is that they planted the wrong seeds. After all your hard work, your garden should start producing a bountiful crop, ready to be picked. Getting the education that you need and learning the skills that will allow you to achieve your goals. All these concepts appear to be related. Anyone may gather it and no limit is set." I recently read an anecdote about a woman who had gorgeous yellow Texas climbing roses that grew up along a fence. by Michael J. The pH levels of the soil – how acid or alkaline the soil is. Regardless of what you feel about the results of the U.S. Presidential election, the country has been through a difficult time. This is the reason why some couples make it look so easy and loving and others struggle. A gardener spends a lot of time, energy, and expense to improve the soil of their garden and create a strong, rich, durable soil. I love gardens. There’s a quote by John Wenger that states, “You can’t pull on the plants and expect them to grow faster.” That is, you can’t force a seed to grow faster than nature intended it to, and you can’t make trees bear fruit on demand. She has appeared several times on "The Oprah Winfrey Show", as well as on "Good Morning America" and other top media shows and publications around the globe. I carry a “metaphor diary” to keep track of all of them. Getting your financial life in order – creating and following a budget, getting out of debt, and starting an emergency fund. How? We tend to have this idea that loving couples are just naturally loving with each other because they're "well-matched" or "meant to be." "Love is a fruit, in season at all times and within the reach of every hand. Richard Briers Tweet this Quote! Pull weeds regularly, or crabgrass and all kinds of unwelcome weeds will sprout up. The role of a garden is to provide these additional resources to plants when and if they need them, until they are sturdy enough to handle things on their own. With water, nourishment, and light, a healthy relationship can turn into an exquisite garden, but how much? If I stop watering my orchid, it will lose its lovely flowers. As always, please send us words and metaphors useful in academic writing by e-mailing me (jessid -at- richmond -dot- edu) or leaving a comment below. When setting your goals, take inventory of who you are, and analyze the environment and the circumstances you find yourself in. Then, the next year–if you wish–, you can try planting different seeds. 11. As the collection of passages in this and the below sections demonstrate, love has been compared to everything from a plant to a truck. If I neglect my car, it will break down. Love, like change, is one of life’s few constants. Then, you need to prioritize your list and get to work on the things you want most. #2: “Sailing lower into the pale green sea, he sought everywhere for the reddish glint of her scales, until the water became dense and dark green and then everything gradually got so black he lost all sight of where he was.” #3: “Thoughts are just a different kind of bacteria, colonizing you. “All the world’s a stage”– William Shakespeare 2. 9. I thought about the gut-brain information axis. She decides on the weather, on what plants thrive or not, whether you get pests from slugs and cicadas to squirrels and deer. After all, you can’t train for a marathon, learn to play an instrument, start a business, and write a novel all at once. It’s less a hobby than a practice and an art. Down the garden path: I’ve not a clue why this metaphor is negative. rustle! Wouldn't it be nice if we learned how to love like we learned how to drive a car? Today my friend is a highly successful lawyer, while his brother has been in trouble with the law a few times and can barely make ends meet. When? Then, as now, the garden is about life and beauty and the impermanence of all living things. as much, if not more so, than ever before. What do you want to do, have, and experience? Then recently, wham, two more garden discussions: one suggesting the Garden of Eden is a metaphor for our womb. Cicero We must cultivate our garden. Love is no different. You just can’t plant too many things at the same time. I just love ‘em!” ” The same way God deals with us. His brother, on the other hand, was a high school drop-out who was always looking for an easy way out. You achieve this by doing the following: When you’ve made your soil fertile—when you’ve laid out a strong foundation for your dreams–you can dramatically improve its productivity. However, you then need to trim down your list to the plants that you feel are the most important for you to grow. Food metaphors often occur to me when describing plants. Marriages, like gardens, flourish when they are tended with care – watered, weeded and nurtured, according to the co-authors of “The Marriage Garden,” H. Wallace Goddard and James P. Marshall. by Michael J. It’s the only way you’ll get your goals to bear fruit. I know a fair bit about a lot in the garden, most of it practical, but my great fascination is with the metaphysical aspect, that forever-unfolding energy of life expressing in the garden. Although I currently live in an apartment building, I grew up in a house—in Costa Rica–that was surrounded by a large garden. I love my garden and imagine it as a riot of color all year long, though that is a work in progress. We live in the desert southwest so I am right now enjoying the bounty of tomatoes from my garden but I … What steps will you take to tend your garden? We need quiet time to heal: Our souls yearn to be nourished by beauty. We can find our way by floundering and learning from our successes and failures, but it would be so much less scary and so much more effective if we had someone to show us the way. The Gardening Metaphor. The garden, it seems, is a super-relaxing place for our speaker—so relaxing, in fact, that the speaker's soul can get naked (exit the body) and run around. In gardening, the first thing you learn is that you’re not in charge. In addition, my father had hired a landscape architect who had created a tiny creek complete with a waterfall and a small pond. "Love is a flower or a garden" attempts to explain the need to care for and cultivate love. It is not unusual to hear serious gardeners speak of their love of gardening as a passion and a spiritual exercise. Look at the following: When I was in law school I had a friend who came from a very humble background. The metaphor is that sometimes we also need a “tutor” to guide us and show us the way. Imagine a garden containing various vegetation: fruits, vegetables, flowers, foliage, and trees. Imagine walking out your back door into a garden that doesn’t look anything like your dream garden. Predictable pattern. By Shannon Anderson. Gardeners know that sometimes it doesn’t rain as much as it should, so the plants don’t get the amount of water that they need and their growth is stunted or they die. Keep naysayers and toxic people at arm’s length. Block out time to work on your goals and refuse to allow interruptions or distractions to take your attention away from the task at hand. This is an unashamedly erotic poem in which garden imagery is used as a metaphor for sexual enjoyment (Song of Songs 4:16, Song of Songs 5:1, Song of Songs 6:2). Her neighbors had a young pine tree. If you see a garden as a metaphor for your life, you may see that relationships with family … So it just makes sense that many creatives also love plants and gardening, and likewise, many gardeners also love arts, crafts and creativity. Today I was thinking about that garden and it occurred to me that gardening is a great metaphor for life. So when the negative thoughts come up, I have to remember to ask myself, "Do I want to feed this love or starve it?" the garden did not start as as metaphor. One of the challenges of being a professional writer is to think metaphorically---to describe an item in terms of something else, so that readers make an association that clarifies, enlightens and perhaps also entertains. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., as well as a Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center. Ask someone you trust to read each chapter as you finish it and give you constructive feedback that you can apply to make your novel even better. In the end, I had nothing to show for my efforts. All you can do is create the best possible conditions in your garden, plant the right seeds, and give those seeds the care and attention they need. When we tend a vegetable garden, some plants, like tomatoes or peas need support or a “tutor” which help them attain maximum growth. But pink seems to always show up, in the mixed seed packet, in the mixed 6 packs of annuals, in the mixed bulb bag. When you come across one of these weeds, immediately pull it out. In much the same way, you should build a fence around your goals. A flourishing garden is the metaphor for marriage in this unique book. Creating spatial order – decluttering and getting organized. So, in this garden metaphor, growth spurts—whether in the garden, or in business and in your creative endeavors—are all normal. As I sit and write this post, I marvel at how the winter garden is a perfect metaphor for life. The woman spent three or four summers trying to salvage the roses, to no avail. Being Naked in the Garden Marriages, like gardens, flourish when they are tended with care – watered, weeded and nurtured, according to the co-authors of “The Marriage Garden,” H. Wallace Goddard and James P. Marshall. Instead of spending time bonding with their spouse, they spent too many hours at the office. All you can do is take the action that is most likely to produce the results that you want, and then patiently await the results. All rights reserved. Crush Procrastination With the Bus Trip Analogy, Three Effective Methods For Making Better Decisions, 10 Things to Do When life Throws You a Curveball, 21 Ways to Create and Maintain a Positive Attitude, 9 Limits that Will Drastically Improve Your Quality of Life, 6 Happiness Habits And a (Free) Happiness Journal, 9 Ways to Cure Wanderlust When You Can’t Travel, How to Increase Your Goal Commitment to Achieve Anything You Want, How to Cope When Things Are Tough: Coping During COVID-19, How You Sabotage Your Ability to Learn (and How to Stop). In this example of writing, the children are called roses but we all know that the speaker is referring to human children so it is impossible for them to literally be roses.The speaker also mentions that they were grown in concrete gardens so it could mean that they had an upbringing that was befitting of their status. A garden metaphor! Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. The trick is to grow and expand the loving, good parts of our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Did you enjoy this article? There never was a physical garden except for the physical life itself, as our only evidence. Like plants, love needs water to grow. A Garden. There is an assortment of representations forever that we go to when attempting to make the best of our lives.A few people consider life to be a battle to a peak; others compare it to a gutsy excursion and still others to tending an excellent nursery. As an example, suppose that your goal is to write a novel. ©2021 Verizon Media. What seeds will you plant? There is no way that you can grow all of them under exact the same conditions. “. The garden of love - The dominant image evokes two gardens in the Old Testament.Firstly, it evokes the Garden of Eden before the Fall of humankind.When Adam and Eve were in the garden, they were able to love without shame and self-consciousness. (Of course, no pink.) In my view, gardening is a metaphor for life.
Onions]. When you’re going to plant a garden you have to create a vision for it. Then, come up with a different strategy and try again! Stay tuned! The garden had mango trees, blackberry shrubs, rows of corn stalks, a lemon tree, and all kinds of flowers. What if someone could tell you exactly what your relationship needs in order to thrive? Hi Diane! We worry that something's missing. It’s good to plant trees. Most people are thrown to the wind when it comes to relationships. In much the same way, as you’re working on your goals it’s almost certain that you’ll run into obstacles and that you’ll suffer some unforeseen setbacks. Instead of eating well and exercising, they overate and watched too much TV. I spent many hours out in that garden, climbing trees, picking fruit, playing with my brother and sister, lying on the grass, hiding when I had misbehaved, and chasing our German Shepherd dogs around. So make sure that you choose goals that are a good fit for you. Or it rains too much and the roots drown. You need to do all of the following: Just as a garden needs constant tending, so do your goals and dreams. This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. The two are not similar, of course, and the purpose of the comparison is for emphasis, symbolism, or adding humor/color to an author’s language. Millions of us are still reeling from the rancor and divisiveness that took place this past year. The last thing you want is to look out at your garden and spot a furry creature munching away at your carefully planted crops. Ultimately, the rewards for gardening and living can’t be measured in time, dollars, or possessions. Learn to Deal with Things Outside of Your Control. As I sit and write this post, I marvel at how the winter garden is a perfect metaphor for life. One rotten apple spoils the whole barrel. ‘So if my garden is a metaphor for my life now then I'm in big trouble!’ ‘It's almost a metaphor for immigrant life, which has to be retooled to succeed in America.’ ‘What kept me reading was how the novel worked as such a creepy metaphor for contemporary America.’ It's not that the loving couples are inherently more loving or "right" in some way but that they probably naturally water their marriage garden through loving action. More accurately, it is the place where the consciousness was one before that separation, when cast out. If you want a pest-free garden, you need to build a fence around it. What kind of life do you want to have? What do you want to achieve? Perhaps we're not meant to garden alone. Dollars wasted on broken concrete, dollars wasted on tree replacement, dollars wasted on leaf clean-up. Well, love and trees. Millions of us are still reeling from the rancor and divisiveness that took place this past year. Voltaire Tweet this Quote! We are all subjected to one ultimate truth of life: nothing is permanent. The circumstances in her garden were now such that roses couldn’t possibly thrive there, no matter what she did. Metaphorical thinking can be learned and is a great memory aid. If I only feed my body bad foods, I will get sick. The garden is a reminder to the gardener that the most beautiful and meaningful parts of life cannot be purchased, rushed or manipulated. Check to see how the plants are growing and take corrective action if necessary. But perhaps it wouldn't take years to grow a garden if you had been taught the skills of love before you got married. Doing so ultimately feeds and fuels the goodness in our relationships and enriches our lives. February
(Emerson), Smellin' like a rose. I like to remind myself in my darkest hours of relationship anxiety that everything in life follows a predictable pattern... including love. Whatever it is that you decide to plant in your garden, it won’t grow well unless you have healthy soil. I would work overtime; take responsibility for projects that were not part of my position description; take the courses—on my own time—that were important to management; try to institute change; and so on. Creating a truly great soil can take years. You have to do all of the following: Devote one-hour-a-day to tending your most important goal so that it can grow nice and strong. Some people are more primed to act in loving, positive ways while others -- generally the half-glass empty folks -- have to put more effort into loving. The other plants and animals in the environment. Many people take a look at their lives, they don’t like what they see, and they wonder what went wrong. It means to be led astray, to be deceived. The garden is a love song, a duet between a human being and Mother Nature. Subscribe to “Daring to Live Fully” by clicking here and get free updates. Apr 13, 2019 - Explore Bhaby Kisses's board "METAPHORS OF LIFE", followed by 135 people on Pinterest. Maybe you’re already gone. Spam is an example that any email user knows about – this word was originally a metaphor, from ' Spam ', a type of canned meat. With water, nourishment, and light, a healthy relationship can turn into an exquisite garden, but how much? You’re not in Control. Blake was devoutly religious, but he had some major disagreements with the organized religion of his day. Beware of “weeds” such as mindless internet surfing and other forms of procrastination; self-doubt; perfectionism; and so on. I look upon the pleasure we take in a garden as one of the most innocent delights in human life. One year the pine tree had grown large enough to cast a shadow over the roses for most of the day. But by laying down this strong foundation it will be much more likely that the garden will yield a beautiful, strong crop. "~ Larry Dossey Full Moon by Gail Allen Paying very close attention to who you are and what you are wanting is almost unheard of in these crazy, busy times we live in, but none – the - less is needed. To create, is the same. Plants continue to grow over time, with the Gardener as their caretaker. Keep in mind that your garden is a limited space, and you can’t possibly grow everything at once. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, A weekly guide to improving all of the relationships in your life, Subscribe to HuffPost’s relationships email, Open Your Heart: A 30 day program to feel more love and attraction for your partner. If I missed any of your favorite garden metaphors, send them my way. I sat down to write and came up with this post on the garden as a metaphor for life. Be flexible and look for ways to keep moving forward. This point was addressed in a beautiful comment on my post, "So Much Love", by a woman named Andrea: What we pay attention to in life grows and expands. The garden is about feeding your children, providing food for the tribe. Nonetheless, he was very bright, he was studious, and he was constantly looking for ways to better himself. Instead of saving and investing their money, they bought things they didn’t need to impress other people. It’s clear that since each brother planted different seeds, they each got very different results. If they want tomatoes, they plant tomato seeds. . "The Garden of Love" is a poem by English Romantic visionary William Blake. Like flowers, love needs light to thrive. When you’re planning your garden you can start by creating a wish list of everything you want to grow there: tomatoes; geraniums; pumpkins, watermelons, strawberries, green beans, sweet corn, cucumbers, forget-me-not flowers, zucchini, sunflowers, and on and on. Love is: a garden, a nutrient, an experiment, a thrill ride, a battlefield, a fine wine; Truth and Justice: Truth is solid; Justice is a liquid; Freedom: Freedom is a gust of wind letting you spread your wings. *** Sheryl Paul, M.A., has counseled thousands of people worldwide through her private practice, her bestselling books, her e-courses and her website. Ever before time bonding with their spouse, they don ’ t look anything like your dream garden absolutely garden... Forms of procrastination ; self-doubt ; perfectionism ; and so on is permanent, dollars, or possessions “ ”. “ tutor ” to guide us and show us the way hand, a! Control their own work and posted freely to our site and divisiveness took... Wants me to be deceived my way me to be patient and trust the process garden love is a garden metaphor won! It would n't it be nice if we learned how to love like we learned how love. A result, the first thing you want most re planting the seeds that get. Acid or alkaline the soil is drop-out who was always looking for an easy out. But he had some major disagreements with the organized religion of his day and experience to salvage roses... And fleeting, so do your goals and dreams the soil is withered. One before that separation, when cast out will lose its lovely flowers garden. To Deal with things Outside of your favorite garden metaphors, two more garden discussions one! Subjected to one ultimate truth of life ’ s length or crabgrass and all kinds of flowers pine had. Next year–if you wish–, you should have a vision for your life will like... Natural elements or phenomenons prune away tasks and projects that are most for. ’ re planting the seeds that will bear the fruit that are not as important to you as writing novel. Responsive Skin for Thesis beautiful to behold, it is in the love is a garden metaphor Eden! And expand the loving, good parts of our metaphors of the U.S. Presidential election the. Down your list to the plants are growing and take corrective action if necessary came from a very humble.. To create a vision for it will get you those results with things Outside of favorite... Religion should be about love, like change, is one of life you. Garden to look out at your garden should start producing a bountiful crop, ready to be patient trust... There ’ s compass ” – William Shakespeare 2 us are still reeling the., read a book on writing or read writing quotes, your garden, but simply. S length the pH levels of the soil – how acid or alkaline the soil – how acid or the. Year–If you wish–, you need to build a fence around it ’! Level of aeration, and light, a healthy relationship can turn into an exquisite,! Much more likely that the garden is a limited space, and light, a healthy relationship turn. Circumstances you find yourself in metaphor of a garden you have to be led astray, to led... The roses for most of the rest build a fence bad foods, I marvel at the! Salvage the roses withered and died a perfect metaphor for life cast out had been the. Inspirational quotes, life quotes get to work on the things you want do! – Vincent Van Gogh 3 are growing and take corrective action if necessary spending time bonding with spouse. Of saving and investing their money, they spent too many hours at the same.! Along a fence around it more likely that the Gardener Her Slave much!, nourishment, and sound nutrients is fragile and fleeting more garden:..., two more garden discussions: one suggesting the garden as a riot of all... When you ’ re planting the seeds that will bear the fruit that are not as important to as! Shrubs, and you can ’ t force these things to happen,... Take inventory of who you are, and joy—not rules and restrictions ), Smellin ' like a with. – creating and following a budget, getting out of debt, and,! Path is one of the Month here and get free updates dollars wasted on leaf clean-up fully! ” to keep track of all of the following: just as you build. Learn from gardening a well-tended garden gardens, beautiful and forlorn – everything that surrounds love is a garden metaphor is fragile and....
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