"'How puzzling all these changes are," said Alice. "I'm never sure what I am going to be from one minute to another. However, I've got back to my right size: the next thing is to get into that beautiful garden.'"
-- lewis carroll
i guess the important thing to remember is that the garden needs to be weeded once in a while.
and nourished.
everything that lives and breathes and grows requires some amount of care. some people like to think they can do all of their own upkeep, but those are the ones who become brittle and dry from neglect. sometimes there is something wrong at the root, and we blame our gardener out of frustration. but nothing beats the results of careful tending and patience.
everything grows. eventually, everything dies. it is often up to us to decide how much effort we will put into the garden.
changes are puzzling. some people try to get into the garden; some people decide to slash and burn their way to something new. the thing to remember is that when the soil has been revitalized and the planting begins, what is really hoped for... is a new garden. chronically unhappy, some people will always destroy the thing they want and then agonize as they wait for the next incarnation of their garden to grow again.
what if it never grows back? what if you always long for what you destroyed?
getting back to your right size can be a bit of a challenge.
if there is no growth, what is left?
"As she said this, she came suddenly upon an open place, with a little house in it about four feet high.`Whoever lives there,' thought Alice, `it'll never do to comeupon them THIS size: why, I should frighten them out of theirwits!' So she began nibbling at the righthand bit again, and did not venture to go near the house till she had brought herself down to nine inches high."
-- lewis carroll
