In Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic, The Secret Garden, the orphan Mary asks her guardian if she may have a bit of earth.
‘Earth?’ he replies. ‘What do you mean?’
‘To plant things in. To make things grow. To see them come alive.’
‘Do you care about gardens so much? A bit of earth?’ he asks. ‘Then you can have as much earth as you want. When you see a bit of earth you want, take it, child, and make it come alive.’
Which is exactly what Mary does with the help of Dickon and the old gardener.
When we nurture the seeds of meditation in our inner garden we, too, begin to come alive at a deeper level. Happiness is elusive: it comes and goes. What grows and becomes evergreen in our innermost garden is contentment.
Dear James,
We last saw the Secret Garden at Stratford many years ago now by the RSC. It was so vibrantly alive with growth and development, not only of the earth but the characters.
Thank you for this. What a wonderfully profound and simple truth and how valuable just now to me. Such an encouragement.
Love and all blessings.
Diana
Trying to quiet myself as I struggle with accepting the necessary pain suffering and loss without which there is no growth. relationship w once helpful, now hurtful. Reading. Braiding Sweetgrass. Hidden Life of Trees. Jungian Platform Conference, Robert Romanysky told of walking by a Lake with his Grandson. 4 year old picked up a rock tossed it into the Lake. Grandfather said “Did you ask the Rock if It wanted to Leave it’s friends?” “Rocks don’t have Friends, Grandpa!” “Are you sure? What about Trees? Close your eyes and listen”. The boy closed his eyes and was still. Soon he began singing…..the song the Trees had taught him .