Dear Reader,
Some people are afraid of blank pages, a big room to fill, or new opportunities. Anxiety sets in.
What if I can't? What if I try and it doesn't work out?
But blank pages, new opportunities, or wide open spaces, they only need to be filled one word, one idea, or one flower at a time. 'No need to hurry. Take your time, Suzanne.' That's what I tell myself every time I'm trying to get up the courage to work in my flower gardens.
Courage may sound like a strange word to use when I'm talking about pulling weeds or planting flowers, but there are seven huge flower gardens surrounding my home and I do all of my own gardening. It's not totally by choice. I've tried to find some neighborhood kids who are interested in earning money, but apparently their piggy banks are full, because nobody wants to work. I really don't mind pulling weeds and I love planting flowers, but getting started is always a real struggle for me. It's a huge amount of space that needs tending to and it can be intimidating. Seven huge flower gardens up against one single person--where do I begin?
Intimidation usually wins the first couple of rounds; I wrestle with the "getting started" part in my mind for a couple of weeks and then finally one day, when I'm walking by the flower gardens, I stoop down and pull a weed. Okay, that wasn't so hard. In fact it felt pretty good, and an hour later, there's a huge pile of weeds beside me.
A few months ago, I pulled out a long line of plants alongside my house. They were looking ragged and just had to go. I'd been avoiding the task, because every time I thought about what I'd replace them with, I couldn't come up with any ideas. It's such a big space, where would I begin? I had no idea how I was going to fill the area. But after I yanked those old plants out and surveyed the wide open space that was in front of me, then I could see all kinds of new possibilities.
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
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