I was reading Fahrenheit 451 today and this excerpt stuck out for me as something to think about. And as the metaphor uses gardeners to carry its message, I thought it perfectly suited to i. Garden....
"Granger stood looking back with Montag. "Everyone must leave something behind when he dies, my grandfather said. A child or a book or a painting or a house or a wall built or a pair of shoes made. Or a garden planted Something your hand touched some way so our soul has somewhere to go when you die, and when people look at that tree or that flower you planted, you're there. It doesn't matter what you do, he said, so long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something that's like you after you take your hands away. The difference between a man who just cuts lawns and a real gardener is the touching, he said. The lawn cutter might just as well not have been there at all; the gardener will be there a lifetime."
-p 156-7, Ray Bradbury
What a universal message the author gives. Something to keep in mind each time you plant a tree or a flower in your garden :)
So true! I often think of just that when I'm out creating in my realm of happiness.
ReplyDeleteI also love trading plants with friends and family. I look at that plant, and think of the one who shared it with me. I have plants in my garden from various loved ones who have already passed on, but they give me a peace that is indescribable.