In a recent conversation, a woman was
expressing to me the frustration she feels with her life. While her
40th birthday looms ahead, she does not yet have a sense of
who she is or what she wants for her future. “I thought that going
back to school would give me that,” she explained, “but I still
feel lost.”
My response left her even
more puzzled - “Don't forget to water your daisies,” I said.
You see, I love my yard and
my flowers, but after 10 years of trying to tame this hillside, I am
still overwhelmed at the work yet to be accomplished. Granted, it
looks a lot better than it did 10 years ago, but I still cannot look
out at it without seeing the long list of things left to do. On the
list of projects? A fence – but do I want chain link or wooden
slat? New bark mulch – but should I use fir, hemlock, cedar,
compost? The sloped path is too steep, but how best to grade it?
Should we keep the high maintenance grass in the middle section or
add a gazebo...maybe? Or a fountain? Are we ever going to get those
blackberries under control? And don't even get me started about the
varieties of perennials and shrubs to debate. And what is the point of debating without the funds to make any of it happen?
Our back deck overlooks this
half-wild terrain, with a few specially placed pots which I have
filled with colorful annuals. This year, I found a most captivating
color of Gerbera daisy, not quite red but darker than a hot pink. I
absolutely love it and while many things in what I call the “back
40” remain severely neglected...ok, avoided, if truth be told... I
faithfully water the daisies that bring me a brief feeling of joy
every time I see them out my living room window.
My point is that the Big
Picture of life can be so overwhelming with its options and questions
that we lose sight of the more minor things that bring
us little moments of pleasure and contentment. Life, like my back
yard, is a constant work in progress that I am not sure ever reaches
the state of “finished project”. So along the journey, it is
important to find those little things that bring us Life, Joy, or
Delight; to give ourselves permission to set aside the major life
issues to enjoy a moment of fun; to invest in those things that are
unrelated to our larger life mission but make life more enjoyable.
I
don't have the whole landscaping of my life mapped out...but for this
season, I am enjoying my daisies.
