The custodian at my office is an interesting guy. He is a true custodian in the sense that he likes to take care of the building and the people in it.
The other night he stopped by my desk to empty my garbage can and we spoke for a few minutes about the busy-ness of work and life. I guess the conversation struck a cord with him because he stopped and thought for a moment before asking me, "Do you like quotes?" I said I did. He pulled out a little wallet and started looking through dozens of tiny scraps of paper.
Each little scrap had a typed quote on it. I’ve seen these around the office and always thought it was cool that our custodian sought to inspire us by offering words of wisdom.
Each little scrap had a typed quote on it. I’ve seen these around the office and always thought it was cool that our custodian sought to inspire us by offering words of wisdom.
The quote he gave me said:
He told me to think about it for a while, let it sink in. So I have.
It has always been apparent to me that my ability to “act as I would incline” has been limited by circumstances. For example, I know I can’t garden every day because I need to go to work. And I know that some weekends are filled with other things – laundry, grocery shopping, weddings, tune-ups, or attacks of laziness – and that gardening can’t always take place then either.
But I suppose there was a part of me that believed these circumstances were just temporary. And maybe the exact circumstances are temporary. But capital letter “C” Circumstances will always be a part of life. That is something I didn’t take to heart before. In my daydreams, I imagine the luxurious life of retirement and how I’ll get to spend hours every day puttering around my yard. It seems like nothing would restrict me then. After all, not working 40 hours a week would free up a lot of time. But who knows what life will be like when I reach retirement age? It's entirely possible that I will have to deal with a bad back, limited funds, or a need to downsize into a smaller house. Maybe pollution will be so bad that I won't want to go outside anymore? Maybe there will be severe droughts and gardening will be criminalized?
Although these thoughts were initially discouraging to me, I have come to see the positive side to realizing that there will always be limits in our lives. It's a positive that this is true for all people so when it gets me down I know I can turn to other gardeners for sympathy or advice. It's a positive that we can't get everything we want exactly when we want it. I'm a firm believer that wanting something is often a better experience than actually getting (although I'm always open to testing this theory by getting the things I want just to be sure it still holds true). And finally, I think our limits and circumstances force us to be creative and force us to make choices and those choices help clarify what matters most in our lives. If nothing else got in the way, I might always choose gardening. But things come up in life and those circumstances give me an opportunity to choose family, relationships, celebrations, and experiences that make life worth living.
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I like what you had to say. This is actually a topic that weighs heavily on my mind -- and you said it beautifully.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kevin. I suspected that other gardeners think about this sort of thing and it's nice to get confirmation.
DeleteThe quote was really good. How often we can learn from people and places we least expect. Thanks for the posting. And by-the-way, your Mother would have no problem with your blog! Jack
ReplyDeleteYou are probably right about that, Jack. I think ideas for my blog have become more tame with my advancing age but I reserve the right to come up with future posts that would make my mother blush!
DeleteWe are not promised tomorrow are we?
ReplyDeleteChad, Your custodian is a wise man. I can still remember the day (I was in my mid-thirties) when I was walking from my office to the campus library and lamenting the fact that, just when I finally seemed to have my life together, a major problem had intervened and it all seemed to be unraveling. Then I had an epiphany: I realized that none of us ever gets it "together" for more than small, temporary interludes; life is what happens in between! It was a very freeing realization. I suppose I remember it so vividly because it was a turning point for me in becoming a happier, more mature person. (But I confess that I'm still holding onto that dream of retirement -- now only 23 months away. :-)) -Jean
ReplyDeletevery good post..thanks
ReplyDelete