A story of a garden hose intertwined with love, impatience, frustration, and the delicate dance of avoiding a meaningful relationship.
In mid-June, I arrived in the embrace of my hometown, Missoula, Montana, fully ready to enjoy the beauty of its delightful summer. I’ve always been drawn to its meandering rivers, long sunlit days, and majestic overlapping mountains. The mountains feel like layers of comfort, pervaded by pure breezes and sacred sounds—a sanctuary for the heart.
I wanted to reconnect with the land and evoke a greater sense of feeling at home. I remembered there was a community garden organization that provided garden plots, so I decided to sign up. Through their generosity and support for success, I was supplied with all the essential tools like shovels, buckets, and compost.
I gently immersed my hands into the soil, grounding myself in a practical way.
Throughout the garden plots, shared hoses snake around tall wooden pillars, they resemble land markers and can extend a long distance, nourishing the love of labor each person sows.
My relationship with the garden hose has always been a challenge. Its weight makes it cumbersome, and no matter how hard I try, I can never seem to coil it back correctly when I put it away. I simply want to walk off from the responsibility and not bother with placing it back in a nice manner. I have a sense that others might experience this too.
One day, after I watered my garden, here is what arose:
Strong feelings of frustration, impatience, and “not enough time” thoughts began to stir in my body and mind. I remained determined to loop the hose correctly for myself and for the next person.
I relaxed my body and mind within all of the points of view and allowed everything within myself to be just as it was—without applying the descriptions or definitions to what was occurring.
Carefully, I untangled and straightened the hose, taking the time to coil it properly, one loop at a time.
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It is a moment-to-moment practice of relaxing completely, right here. It is a teaching of great capacity within great simplicity.
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Each visit to the garden brought the same thoughts and emotions, yet gradually, it became easier. Through nurturing this seemingly trivial relationship with the garden hose, I found myself nurturing a deeper relationship within my own being.
As I faced every twist, tangle, and turn of the hose, it seemed like a beautiful metaphor—I began to understand that life's complexities are, indeed, "workable," as my wise Teacher has often shared. It has been a gentle reminder that every challenge we encounter is an opportunity to grow, deepen our capacity to love, and find beauty in the intricacies of life's unfolding journey.
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We each have the honor, privilege, and opportunity to nurture ourselves and others in a gentle way, simply by relaxing and testing the benefit of not avoiding circumstances, situations, or relationships. Eventually, there comes an understanding that everyone and everything is actually a direct reflection of our very selves.
You can honor this on a moment-to-moment basis by relying on your inner knowing, an inner sanctity, just by relaxing when you remember to.
You can tap into this place of wisdom and clarity within all that you feel. This is your ultimate wellness, strength, and capacity.
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Yet, amidst the journey, I offer you this poignant photo below, displaying a moment of surrender. On that particular day, my hands and arms surrendered to the strain, and I let the struggle be just as it was, yes, I walked away, leaving the hose tangled.
I recognize that all is well and love prevails, regardless of our feelings or thoughts, whether they be joyous, challenging, or otherwise. All is well.
Within us lies an innate ease, and an unwavering stability that sustains us through every circumstance. In this realization, I find solace, in knowing that love permeates all, and we are forever enveloped by its embrace.