Be a gardener not an architect

Be a gardener, not an architect

Neil Gaiman said this on the Tim Ferriss show

If we reflect on our day, our week, our year, our life,
we will realise that it is full of chase

We are chasing something which we don’t have
and desire to have

While achievements do fuel a lot of creative enterprise
what would it be like not to have an end-goal?

“What? Is that even possible?
How can I live life or do my work if I don’t have a goal?”

Off course we need to have a goal
a gardener also has a goal to have a beautiful garden
she decides what she will plant and how many

But the amazing thing is the same soil and same external conditions
give rise to different flowers

Each flower grows at its own pace
and has its own unique problems and opportunities

Gardener tends to the flower as per the flowers needs and
she accepts the natural order and pace of the growth

An architect builds a blueprint and then goes about bending reality to her vision

Neil Gaiman is saying that when you behave like a gardener
you become open to new opportunities,
random events and accidents
and you are ok with it
because the journey is more important than the destination

You are open to what nature reveals itself
rather than stamping your will on it

Neil says “You don’t need to know what happens next”

You would want to grow in life, in work, in relationships
and growth requires curiosity

Growth requires accepting that like a flower
each human being needs their own
pace of growing, expressing and discovering

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Today,

What areas of your life will you allow
flowers to bloom at their pace?

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