It is as simple as that!

The moon broke through the clouds just long enough for me to see that I had spilled tiny marigold seeds all over the slightly tilled soil. Darn it. I exclaimed out loud as I frantically began picking them up the seeds and shoving them back into the dirt encrusted package. I was becoming increasingly frustrated from my early morning foray into the garden. Maybe I should have just stayed inside, snuggled in my warm bed, instead of trying to plant by the last light of a cold waxing moon.

My gardens had never cooperated with me. I had spent hours researching the latest techniques… the right alkaline and acidity…. the perfect time to plant the infant seeds into the fertile ground. These techniques had brought me nothing but disaster. Still I returned, digging in the half frozen soil, imagining tables full of luscious bouquets and the smell of fresh basil simmering on the stove.

Exasperated, I sat back on my heels and wiped my hair from my forehead. I should give up! I sat for a minute pondering why I continued to berate myself for something I did not even really care to do. However I also understood that deep within myself lurked a strong magnetic pull to nurture something magical into fruition.

It was in that moment that everything changed. At first, I thought I heard a strange a cat mewing in the far distance. My ears searched far and wide to distinguish the unknown intruder. Then, as it the sound approached closer, it reverberated off the mountain and reformed into a tiny child giggling. I froze. What the hell is going on?

“You know.” An audible voice cracked through the stillness. “You should not be in such a hurry.” The voice was chiding, yet at the same it contained within it’s resonance a hint of bemusement. “Take a moment….hold the seeds in your hands… breathe your spirit into them.” The voice let out a long sigh. I slowly turned my head in its direction. “That is what a garden is about….the breath of life. It is as simple as that.”

Standing to my side was a strange little being. He stood resplendent in the glowing light of first dawn. He processed a kind face which was adorned with a long white beard. On his head was a small pointed blue hat that tilted to one side. He was dressed humbly, yet at the same time, he looked regal in his appointment.

“Yes.” He grinned. I blinked my eyes several times, but his image was steadfast. “You are truly seeing me and as a matter of fact….I am a real being. I am not an illusion.”
I struggled to gain composure. Words formed in my head, but did not seem to make it out into the morning dew. After a moment, he sat down across from me and cocked his tiny head.

“You see…..gardening is a reflection of you. Nothing more nor nothing less.” He waved his tiny hands as he spoke. “When you hurry in the garden, it shows me how hurried you are in your life. Nothing can grow without a space to grow in.” Another pause.  “When you are just flaying about….you are not growing anything but chaos.  It saddens me to think your life if full of chaos.” He nodded his head back and forth.  “Such a waste of imagination.”

I felt tears beginning to form and I bit my lip to hold back my amazement of the moment.

“You, young lady, can research all you want. You can plant at just the perfect time, using all the brightest and expensive tools. You can speak the right and perfect incantation over the seeds and place them exactly an inch a part. He pointed his small finger towards my rusty yellow ruler. “However, the seeds you plant will not grow until you find harmony within yourself.” He pulled out a tiny wooded pipe and began filling it. “They will never grow until you nurture the garden that lies within you. Do you understand?”

I sat in silence and watched as he lit his tiny pipe. A familiar scent filled the garden and I realized that I had smelled that aroma before. Often when I was trudging about frantically weeding or planting, I had smell a delicious scent and wondered what it was. Now, I knew. It was this tiny little man sitting in front of me.

“Ah.” He giggled. “Finally, you are connecting things.” He scampered closer to me, and I welcomed his manifestation. “Do you know how many attempts I have made to help you?”

I shook my head. No.

“More than I can count.” He was so close to me, I could feel his breath.
“Within you lies a resplendent garden, but you have not realize that yet. You could grow a garden…” He paused, and within our coupled minds eyes, I could see the pictures he was painting. My garden was exploding into colors and scents I had never imagined. “…..a most beautiful garden, if you would allow your own beauty to spring forth into the world.”  I turned to look around me as tiny seedlings broke through the earth to meet the dawn. “Imagine….just yourself go and feel the garden within you….taste the garden within you…..become the garden.”

The sun kissed the horizon and the garden was graced hued in pink light. It was the most beautiful garden I had ever seen. The tiny man sat back upon his heels and sighed. Then he stood up, walked closer still and kissed my forehead. “Remember, find your inner garden and give birth to your outer-self.” He bowed and removed his hat from his head. “It is a simple as that.”

Suddenly everything I was experiencing disappeared before my eyes. I gasped and turned around to thank him, but he too had vanished into thin air. All that was left of his visit was a tender marigold seedling emerging from the hard cold ground.