Big Garden Dreams

It is spring! The dahlias have started to wake up in their loamy beds and the apple trees are covered in pink and white blooms. Tiny sparkling red hummingbirds whistle as they dive and dart. Today I will put basil, broccoli, and green bean seeds into some soil. I find planting to be so hopeful and exciting. I imagine a lush beautiful future garden and the yummy meals to be shared with friends and yogis. 

About three weeks ago, I planted in the garden (with hopefulness and optimism!) some baby cabbage, bok choy, and spinach. Jaunty and upright in freshly turned soil, the young cabbage turned their tiny leaves to the springtime sun. Alas, it turns out that something likes to eat baby cabbage plants, and while none have died, the poor things look bedraggled and mangled. They are stalled in their growth and look nothing like I had hoped for. In the meantime,  we ate the first of the bok choy while the spinach is taking its time to grow strong. 

Our minds are amazing. The mind dreams big and carries hope and ideas about how things should be. It becomes clear, though, that reality is more complex and mostly doesn't match up to what we want to happen or think should happen. I will keep dreaming big garden dreams; some of it will come to pass and some will not. But I will still be out in the sun with my hands in the dirt. Our mission as humans is to open the heart to the complexity of life and keep showing up for ourselves, the world, and each other.