Amid the stressful flurry of Christmas preparations, a peek of green cheered me up greatly today.
You would have missed it if you hadn’t looked carefully. The pots of garlic all looked the same, damp soil with tubing sitting quietly on top.
Upon closer inspection, Alex spotted that the Lotus garlic was sprouting!! This turban variety of garlic was the quickest to sprout and it will be ready the soonest next year, far ahead of its siblings.
It’s a wonderful reminder that good things to take time. I’m constantly reminding myself that I should be more patient.
Gardening feels that way.
There’s much work to do in the beginning: getting the soil ready, planting the seeds (even nursing the seedlings), and setting up the irrigation. Once it’s set up, it feels like nothing happens for weeks. Was all that work worth it?
Oh yes, it’s all worth it when you see the first sprout peeking up at you from just below the soil. There’s the marker of progress. But, it takes time for that progress to show.
Takeaway For Today
Alex is constantly telling me that Christmas is the most stressful time for Americans.
I don’t get this because Christmas is the time of relaxation in New Zealand. Shops close and offices are on holiday. Most of the country goes on holiday or at least switches off and recuperates in the warm summer breeze.
In the other hemisphere, Americans are fighting each other in the supermarket aisles for the last box of stuff and cutting each other off on the freeways with complementary hand gestures.
Yet, I know Alex’s right because I’m more irritated, emotional, and stressed during this holiday season.
It’s time to take a breather.
Remind myself Christmas is the time to recharge. It’s OK that it’s taking me 3 times longer to wrap presents. I don’t do it every day. It’s OK that I’m taking a long time to pack my bags because I’m tired and disorganized. It’s OK that I’m puttering around the house because that’s what Christmas is for.
It takes me 3 times longer to do everything.
But things get done. It all takes time and yet progress happens.
Grab a hot cup of spiced cider and patiently do whatever task you have to get done. You’ll see. You’ll get it done and it’ll go great. It’s OK if it takes you 3 times longer to do it. Just enjoy the task while you’re at it.
Just like I enjoyed staring at the wonderful sprouts.
Think about all the hard work you put in this year. Reflect on all the sacrifices you made this year. You made progress. It’s OK to take 3 times as long to do anything. You deserve taking it slooooooooow for the reminder of 2017 🙂 .
