Drink More Water

I was telling a new friend about my writing here at Garden Gate and she was suitably impressed--as any good friend would naturally be--and inquired as to my qualifications as a gardening guru. Was I a master gardener, did I have multiple degrees in botany and horticulture? Did I have to spend hours of research to answer reader’s questions?

 Nope, I said, just years of experience in trial and error.

She raised her eyebrows a little at this.

 Having at least two opinions on any given subject make me highly qualified, I hastened to assure her. That, and the ability to ramble on about it for 280 words, plus a strong abhorrence to pesky elk and I am the perfect person to offer advice.

In grief, just as in gardening,
I am learning that proper hydration can make a big difference.
 I drink plenty of water (or iced tea) and I go on.

As we travel through life we gain Life Experience; books, observation, hands on experience, success and failure all have a role in teaching us what we need to know.

It is said that when the student is ready the teacher will appear. I have been blessed to have had many good teachers in my life who have shown me how to construct a sturdy sentence, how to plant a garden, how to walk a difficult path. These teachers have been both gentle and generous with their instruction.

These days I am finding guidance from those who have dealt with loss and walked through fire to come out the other side--and just as with gardening tips--they share what they have learned along the way. It is a club nobody wants to join, but somehow support from fellow members makes it possible to survive. Love lifts us up, and we in turn lift others. We share our hard earned knowledge, we survive, and eventually we thrive.