Lessons from the Gardens

I've been in Canada. Well, for a day this week, anyhow. My colleagues and I took the ferry to Sidney, B.C. and spent about five hours in Butchart Gardens, north of Victoria.

There's something amazingly therapeutic and restorative about spending five hours in gardens brimming over with blossoms of all hues and types.

I overheard some other visitors discussing the genius of how these gardens were arranged. The lady observed to her husband that the glory of it was the way the colors were combined, adjacent to one another. Oranges were planted next to purples, reds bloomed next to blues, yellows snuggled up next to pinks, and so on.

The resulting riot of colors, carefully planned, was a delight.

We visited on a day that was mostly cloudy, with cool-ish temperatures. Paradoxically, the colors are brighter when there's a bit of overcast.


And so some analogies to life occurred to me, as they always do if I think about things for long enough. And these are the lessons to be learned, as I brought them back home with me:

1. Contrasts bring out the beauty. It's all a part of "the plan." Get right up next to those who are different than you, and the proximity of both of you will enhance the beauty in both of you.

2. Overcast skies bring out the true colors in living things. Don't be afraid of the overcast. And don't jump into long-term proximal relationships until there has been enough overcast to observe the true colors.

3. Take time to be in the beauty of a garden. There's a reason it was our first home, and it's easier to glimpse "Home" whenever you return to one.