'"Business!" cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. "Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence were all my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!"' - A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
That night I twisted and turned in my bed, not able to keep my eyelids shut. I kept telling myself that I was safe at home and it was the two of them who would be facing the world outside, but for all the emotions flowing through my mind, peace was one that eluded me. I kept thinking of all the friends I had made in my life, and how I couldn't exactly recall every name. I kept wondering if I would really lose my friends, all of them slowly but surely. It wasn't until deep into the night that I went to sleep.
In slumber, my thoughts wandered into a far off place. I was standing into a vast open space, that was filled with a wide assortment of plants. The sun shone brightly onto the land and I had to shade my eyes to realize where I was. I couldn't quite make out where I was, no memory of ever having been to this place.
As I was contemplating walking away from this garden, I saw a silhouette approaching me from a short distance.
"Hello. Can you tell me where I am? I seem to be lost.", I said to the figure.
The person approached closer, and I could make out it was an old man.
"On the contrary, my son, you are exactly where you need to be." he said in a calming voice.
"I don't mean to be rude, but who are you?" I felt uneasy being at the mercy of a stranger, and yet somehow I felt there was no way, no reason I could feel unsafe in such a beautiful place.
"Its not important right now, for you to know who I am. What matters is for you to know who you are and where you stand."
"Okay. Where am I?"
"You are standing in your garden."
"My garden?" I had no recollection of ever planting or inheriting a garden.
"Yes. This is your garden. You are very fortunate to actually see it with your own eyes. Not many people get to see their garden in life, even though they put their work in it every day."
"I don't understand. How could I have a garden that I have never been to in my life?"
"The garden is a mysterious place. People don't really know what their garden looks like, and what it consists of. They just carry on with their lives, not knowing of the place all of them have that is their own."
"I am confused. Can you tell me what this garden is?", I asked curiously.
"This garden houses the plants of your relationships. Every tree, bush or weed you see represents your family and friends. Every person you meet, every friend you make, every romance you experience, plants a seed in your garden."
"You mean even the call-center employee who offers to sell me a credit card?", I jested.
"Sure. Everyone you encounter has an effect on your life, even though it might be momentary and insignificant. But if you let that person close, if you build your relationship with them, their seed is watered. It is fertilized. And it grows in your garden. Every tree you see growing to meet the sky, belongs to a dear friend."
I looked around and it heartened me to see quite a few tall trees in the garden.
"Then there are some flower bushes. Those are the relationships that you pursued based only on looks or convenience. You never really deeply cared for them, or even if you did, they never cared back. But you were merely blinded by beauty to realize that."
"And what about the weeds?", I asked.
"Those are the relationships that you soured. Maybe you took advantage of the kindness people showed you, or people in turn betrayed your own kindness. You should clean them while you have the opportunity to do so."
I looked around and realized the garden was vast. It was so big, I couldn't actually count how many different types of plants were housed there.
"It's really beautiful! I am privileged to know this place belongs to me. And that I have a hand in having created it."
"It's not enough to know this is yours. You need to realize it's your responsibility to protect it, to preserve it. Keep your friends close at heart. Keep talking to them from time to time. Try and find the time to meet them and rejoice their company. Sometimes they will do the same for you. Remember, even if they don't speak to you daily, you have a special place in their heart as well. You are a tree in their garden too.
And remember that you plant a seed in the garden of everyone you ever meet. A kind word, a gentle consolation, even the most menial of compliments; those are the best seeds you can plant."
And that was when my alarm went off. Although I felt a bit wiser and bit calmer after having had this dream, I knew well I had a lot of work to do. There was a garden that I needed to tend to for the rest of my life.
It was a dreary Sunday afternoon, and I was standing on the highway, looking at a car fading into the distance. I had just bid a couple of very close friends goodbye on their journey far from home. I went back home and thought about the time we spent together, about all the memories we shared from our very young years. I had felt a sudden hollowness ever since I knew they were leaving. They had always been there for me when I needed, even though in the last few years I had sparingly met them. I had a horrid thought that I would soon not be close to them as I once was. I kept feeling that I was all alone in my home city, while all my close friends had begun spreading their wings. It was queer for me to feel the empty nest syndrome for my peers.
In slumber, my thoughts wandered into a far off place. I was standing into a vast open space, that was filled with a wide assortment of plants. The sun shone brightly onto the land and I had to shade my eyes to realize where I was. I couldn't quite make out where I was, no memory of ever having been to this place.
As I was contemplating walking away from this garden, I saw a silhouette approaching me from a short distance.
"Hello. Can you tell me where I am? I seem to be lost.", I said to the figure.
The person approached closer, and I could make out it was an old man.
"On the contrary, my son, you are exactly where you need to be." he said in a calming voice.
"I don't mean to be rude, but who are you?" I felt uneasy being at the mercy of a stranger, and yet somehow I felt there was no way, no reason I could feel unsafe in such a beautiful place.
"Its not important right now, for you to know who I am. What matters is for you to know who you are and where you stand."
"Okay. Where am I?"
"You are standing in your garden."
"My garden?" I had no recollection of ever planting or inheriting a garden.
"Yes. This is your garden. You are very fortunate to actually see it with your own eyes. Not many people get to see their garden in life, even though they put their work in it every day."
"I don't understand. How could I have a garden that I have never been to in my life?"
"The garden is a mysterious place. People don't really know what their garden looks like, and what it consists of. They just carry on with their lives, not knowing of the place all of them have that is their own."
"I am confused. Can you tell me what this garden is?", I asked curiously.
"This garden houses the plants of your relationships. Every tree, bush or weed you see represents your family and friends. Every person you meet, every friend you make, every romance you experience, plants a seed in your garden."
"You mean even the call-center employee who offers to sell me a credit card?", I jested.
"Sure. Everyone you encounter has an effect on your life, even though it might be momentary and insignificant. But if you let that person close, if you build your relationship with them, their seed is watered. It is fertilized. And it grows in your garden. Every tree you see growing to meet the sky, belongs to a dear friend."
I looked around and it heartened me to see quite a few tall trees in the garden.
"Then there are some flower bushes. Those are the relationships that you pursued based only on looks or convenience. You never really deeply cared for them, or even if you did, they never cared back. But you were merely blinded by beauty to realize that."
"And what about the weeds?", I asked.
"Those are the relationships that you soured. Maybe you took advantage of the kindness people showed you, or people in turn betrayed your own kindness. You should clean them while you have the opportunity to do so."
I looked around and realized the garden was vast. It was so big, I couldn't actually count how many different types of plants were housed there.
"It's really beautiful! I am privileged to know this place belongs to me. And that I have a hand in having created it."
"It's not enough to know this is yours. You need to realize it's your responsibility to protect it, to preserve it. Keep your friends close at heart. Keep talking to them from time to time. Try and find the time to meet them and rejoice their company. Sometimes they will do the same for you. Remember, even if they don't speak to you daily, you have a special place in their heart as well. You are a tree in their garden too.
And remember that you plant a seed in the garden of everyone you ever meet. A kind word, a gentle consolation, even the most menial of compliments; those are the best seeds you can plant."
And that was when my alarm went off. Although I felt a bit wiser and bit calmer after having had this dream, I knew well I had a lot of work to do. There was a garden that I needed to tend to for the rest of my life.
