The garden of life...

Where has time gone?  Here we are, trapped in the amber of time.  And everyday has been a Monday this week.  Twists and turns and ups and downs all week.  The garden is another world outside my world—magical, and brimming with life and undisturbed in the quiet acceptance my soul craves.  This is exactly the place I chose to live my life.    

In my mental scrapbook I'm arranging rose petals and bird songs, and the air is bringing on swift wings the scent of wild honeysuckle and faraway fields of greens...

On Tuesday, I decided the garden needed to have a pruning day, so immediately out came the shears and wheelbarrow.  Every rose bush got a shaping that not only have improved their appearance, but also gotten rid of a lot of the damage performed by bugs.  Why do bugs enjoy destroying the beauty found in our natural ecosystems, escapes my imagination.  And then again, isn't it the same with our 'human' world as well?  Dealing with people who put you down on a  daily basis can be a hard thing to bear.  Ah, always those specks of bad moments and bad people among the good!

On Tuesday I wore my clothes inside out to work.  The entire outfit inside out!  Just before heading out to the main court room to translate for one of the senior judges, my boss pointed out to me that I was wearing my sweater inside out and, he didn't think I wanted to go out there showing my labels and seams. I was so appreciative that he dared to say something. But that was not it.  Just before going home at the end of my day, I stopped at the restroom and only then realized that I had also been wearing my skirt inside out all day long.  The colors and designs on the material are so similar on either side that I hope nobody noticed it. How in the world I managed to do that it escapes the best of me, however!  That can only testifies of what an unmindful soul I've been all my life.

 

I made some bouquets with the roses I pruned, and brought them inside.  Pink roses, red roses, big, small.  What a treasure they all are to me, and how their simple beauty brings such joy to my home.

Tuesday was also the day my eyes were opened to an infinitude of mysteries that finally set my spirit free. You see, after another setback with one of those condescending souls at the workplace whose goal in life is to only make herself feel she's in control by pointing out your mistakes and talking down on you, or making you feel belittled so she can feel superior at your expense, I finally resigned.  Or tried to anyway, because my boss refused to let me go and wouldn't accept my resignation.  And what a benevolent, generous soul this judge is, and how he was able to opened up my eyes right there and then by letting me see what I have come to represent for my superiors, my co-workers and the people I get to help on a daily basis in just the few months I've been there.  I am leaving a sparkly trail of glitter behind me, and I hadn't even realized it.

The following day this Wednesday, this same woman was suspended by another of our judges for the entire day.  Apparently for a huge slip on her part and an attitude that was getting to be too tiresome. She collected her belongings and went home.  I felt sick thinking that I may had something to do with her departure, but the incident could had only proved that even the 'important' and the 'know-it-all' do make mistakes too.

Ah yes, to every thing there is a season—whatever God does, it will be forever—God will judge the righteous and the wicked. I am thankful and glad that this woman is coming back.  I didn't want to see her fired, but my soul had been freed after the incident.  I have freed myself emotionally from her burden and now my spirit can shine freely.

What I've learned: