When my sick leave was authorised on Wednesday, it felt nice resting in bed without thinking of work. It felt blissful. However, after five days I did not know what to do with myself. It was strange because I had worked for over a decade without being off sick and hardly taken such a long break.
I had to face reality. I pondered on what to do. It was then I remembered that I love gardening and I had not done that due to being busy. Gardening was my main thought. I chose a part in my back garden to use planting pots to grow vegetables and spices. I visited the garden centres, bought planting pots, compost, seeds, and things I needed.
I spent at least three hours daily in the garden.
‘What was I doing’? you may ask!
Well, you might find it hard to understand if you haven’t gone through a transition or a similar experience.
I admired the positioning of the planting pots and sometimes I rearranged them. I planted amongst English vegetables and spices a traditional vegetable called ‘njama-njama’ or huckleberry with seeds my mother sent from Cameroon, West Africa. When the seeds sprouted, my excitement increased. I visited the garden to see the plants several times a day and each visit felt different.
Initially when I explained to my friends about my gardening, I got several discouraging responses such as ‘why not just go to the shop and buy the vegetables and spices’; ‘it’s a waste of time and energy’, ‘they might not even grow’, and much more.
I realised that my friends focused on the end product. Whereas the process was vital to me. I felt I was getting therapy as I experienced joy, satisfaction, getting grounded and co-creating (organic food).
I had a good harvest and shared with my friends who were surprised. The satisfaction eating the vegetables I planted was just the tip of the iceberg.
At the beginning of autumn, the weather was not suitable for the vegetable ‘njama-njama’ so I decided to get two greenhouses and transferred all the planting pots. The plants continued to grow.
However, a couple of days ago storm Barra was very strong and the wind blew off both my greenhouses. All the planting pots are now exposed as seen on the picture.
THE MORAL OF THE STORY
I invested a lot of energy in gardening. This was a vehicle that helped me to deal with the transition I was going through to arrive where I am today. I got positive energy, grounded, calm, relaxed, recollection, appreciation, and gratitude.
Now I am in tune with the person I am and who I am becoming. I have developed a different mindset as compared to when I went off sick. I still love gardening and will continue with it but my focus on it is less. My focus has shifted to coaching where I want to help and impact others to find joy and satisfaction in life.
So, the people, places, things, and situations that helped you to be where you are today, is/are not the same that will take you to the next stage of your life.
Learn to let go and find what helps you to move towards your life purpose.
What are you holding to that prevents you from getting to where you want to be?
If you need help to ‘LET GO’, then send me a message or book a free call on the link in the comment.
Commenti