Thursday, July 17, 2008

Turning the Corner

There often comes a point in massive, time consuming projects when we turn an important corner. The way becomes a bit easier. The task no longer seems daunting or impossible.

Today in my garden, I turned such a corner. Up to this point, for some reason, this year I have been unable to get caught up with my garden work. I have a large yard, and the weeding and pruning work load is pretty hefty.

Usually by this time of the summer, I have the task well in hand, and only need to put in one hour 3 or 4 days a week. Here we are in mid July, and I've been logging a lot of extra hours (sometimes 3 or 4 hours in a day) trying to get ahead of the weeds!

Today I finished weeding the last area of the garden (now its time to start another pass, however, the weeds are few and far between and this pass will go much faster!) I also completed some of the most pressing pruning. The garden actually looks like it's well tended!

From here on out, I'll be able to put in my 3 - 4 hours a week and not only stay up on the 'maintenance' but do some of the 'fine tuning' type of gardening that I find most enjoyable. Shaping shrubs, planting new plants, clipping out dead wood from large trees and shrubs and other little miscellaneous 'fun' tasks.

What a joy! To be able to reach the point in a project, where the 'heavy lifting' is over, one can enjoy the 'fruits of' the hard labor, and spend time actually enjoying the task in it's kinder, more gentle incarnation.

This achievement comes as a result of hard work and dedication. It doesn't just land in our laps. The important thing is to stay the course, even during the frustrating times when the task seems endless and insurmountable! Then, all of a sudden, one bright day, we turn that corner and experience a new reality!

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