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
share in comments
Today,
What areas of your life will you allow
flowers to bloom at their pace?