Watering The Soil of Growth
Sunday, December 16th, 2007When I was six years old I got a new neighbor. That in and of itself isn’t a remarkable or drastic feat. People move in and out of neighborhoods all the time. She was different in her own special way. She was one of the first people to give me insight into what this life is really all about.
Cordele, GA is my hometown. For those of you who don’t know its the Watermelon Capital of the World. I wish I could say there is a lot going on there. I wish I could say it’s a great place to launch your career as an astrophysicist. I wish I could say it has more than 2 exits on the interstate. I wish I could say the median salary wasn’t $25,000. Unfortunately, I can’t say any of those things. I know you’re jealous. That’s ok :).
However, I can say this. The new neighbor that moved in next door around the time I was six was a blessing. Thanks Cordele.
I lived on the “wrong side of the tracks” in a literal sense. A train track runs down through my town (have-nots on one side and have-it-alls on the other). My neighborhood was made of 10 houses with notoriously poor lawns. At least 8 of the front lawns looked like plots from the Sahara desert. At some point everyone on the block had tried to plant flowers. One by one they all failed. Even my beloved grandmother with her midas touch of gold couldn’t get her flowers and trees to grow (sorry grandma).
My new neighbor didn’t have that problem. 2 or 3 days after she moved in I saw her out in the yard with a stick. She bent over and put her 60 year old knees into the dirt and began to crawl around. Curiosity got the best of me so I waltzed over into her yard to figure out what was going on. To my disappointment she was only drawing small “X” shapes in the sand. I said hello to her and went on with my day.
About a week later I noticed her out in the yard again. This time she carried a bag in her right hand and a small shovel in her left. At a pace all her own she methodically planted seeds at every “X” mark in the yard. One by one she’d move over to a spot and follow this exact process:
- Shovel dirt
- Deposit Seeds
- Cover the hole
- Pack it down
I must have watched her shovel dirt for at least an hour. The process was intricate yet simple. I’d never seen anyone else go through such great lengths to START their garden. It was obvious to me that she was up to something. I just didn’t know what.
Over the next couple of months my new neighbor diligently watered her plants. Every single day she’d be out in that yard. Her movements were precise and calculated. I’d never seen anyone so interested in pouring water into the grand. It was interesting, boring, and crazy at the same time. Watching her water plants was one of the few things that could make me sit still.
Every single day for the next six months the process continued without fail. People in the neighborhood grew suspicious and began to gossip about the woman who was “obsessed with her garden”.
- Who does she think she is?
- Doesn’t she know plants don’t grow here?
- Why does she waste her time out there?
- Is she crazy??
About a year later all her critics grew silent. What was once a lonely plot of dirt was blossoming into a gorgeous front lawn. Around the perimeter of her yard were trees that stood taller than anything else in the neighborhood. Inside that small forest of trees grew rows of petunias, roses, and other assorted flowers. In a little over a year she had the most dazzling yard on the block!
I was green with envy. My grandmother had been trying for years to get grass to grow in her yard. Meanwhile, our neighbor was building a tropical rain forest.My neighbor’s flowers and my jealousy grew out of control at the same rate. It became my mission to discover her secrets. One day I decided to get up close and personal. Since I was a James Bond fan at the time I decided to use some 007 tactics. I pressed my body against the wall of her house and slid along the bricks until I made it to the edge of her garden. As I peaked around the corner I noticed that my neighbor was nowhere to be seen. I knew she couldn’t have disappeared that quick so I advanced into her yard. Out of nowhere a bucket of water soaked my face.
“Young man would you mind telling me what you’re doing snooping around in my yard!!!??’ she screamed.
“I…I…I…was trying to steal your secrets” I stammered out.
“What secrets are you talking about?” she asked in an irritated tone.
I gathered myself and explained that I was jealous of her yard and wanted to share her success with my grandmother. She burst out into a taunting laugh that I’ll never forget. After she got done laughing she asked that I pay very special attention to what she was about to say closely. She paused for about 15 seconds and said something that I (along with everyone else on earth) really needed to hear:
“If you want anything on this earth to grow you must work towards that growth. Some things may happen quick. But that’s the exception, not the rule. I haven’t done anything special except pay attention and water my plants with care. I know what I have to do and I do it. Tell your grandmother that’s the only “secret” she needs”
My little heart plummeted to the floor. I was expecting her to surprise me with secret planting or watering techniques. Instead she told me to poor water into the ground every day.
As an adult I can fully respect that message. I’ve seen it work in my life and the lives of others. In order to grow and progress you must be willing to go that extra mile, be consistent, and drive towards your goals whether you have 0, 1, 10, or 10 thousand people supporting you. In the end it’s all the same.
So here’s the final question.
Are you leaving the water in the hose or using it to water your own personal soil of growth?
Marcus A Smith
http://blog.bodybuilding.com/iamstr8fire
