Have you ever wondered why I’ve never been great in juggling my relationship with my family, my friends and my studies at school? Well, let me tell you about a story of a Gardener.
In her garden, there are fruit bearing trees that bore all year long, providing her with a sustainable supply of an assortment of fruits for her to enjoy. And it provided shelter for her from the sweltering heat during her breaks.
Her garden was dotted with fragrant herbs and colorful flowers which added color to her life. The herbs she grew can be used to cure her sickness or to keep her well being in check.
Lastly there were the legumes and vegetable plants, which are the trickiest and the most needed nutrition for the Gardener. This teaches her to be resourceful and learn on how to grow and maintain them, while reaping the profits of her harvest.
Each of these plants represent something in our lives, or in this case, for the Gardener.
The trees represent our families, who sustain us through shelter and provide us food and money.
The herbs and flowers represent the friends around us, with the herbs being the true friends who will heal us when we are down and the flowers, representing those friends who come and go, provide us smiles and laughter for a short time.
The legumes and vegetable plants are the work and study that are meant to teach us how to survive in life, despite their hardy and complicated nature, they still produce the most profitable and nutritious amongst the rest of the plants she’s grown.
She puts in her time and effort to nurture her garden. But of course, not everything will go well as planned. Some will wilt and die, some would just not bloom or bear fruits at its fullest.
One day, she found a hive which was filled to the brim with honey. Curious, she climbed the branch where the honey hung. She heard the buzzing bees in the hive, which she did not mind one bit. But what caught her attention was the smell of the golden liquid. She reaches out just to wipe off the treacle from the entrance of the hive and licked it off from her finger. She felt the sweet, golden syrup melt in her mouth and soothed her throat, giving her the pleasure like none other, before she got stung by the bees.
Despite the stinging pain she got from the bees, she felt the adrenaline through her veins as she thought to herself that she needed the honey. She has become addicted to it.
Her addiction grew as she thought of ways to drain the honey from the hive without getting stung. She tried numerous attempts to steal a few drops, but she kept on being swarmed by the fuzzy protectors.
Hours turns to days, as she restlessly invades the golden vault, eventually neglecting her duties as a gardener. At first she did not forsaken the herbs she had, saving time to keep them alive every time the bees stung her during her fruitless pursuit.
After numerous attempts, she managed to get hold of a measly amount of the golden treacle. However, her condition has already worsened by then. The herbs she used to slather upon her wounds no longer healed her, and none of her plants provided her the same freshness as she used to harvest – most of them were infested with pests.
Remembering that sweet, healing taste in her mouth, she dipped her finger into the jar and allowed the golden treacle to ooze down her beaten wound. It did not hurt, instead, it closes the wound and stops the infection. Her addiction to honey worsens after that.
As days passed by, she managed to collect all of the honey. As she heaved a sigh of relief, and for the first time looking at her garden, she was devastated.
What was once a plethora of life has then vanished into oblivion. All the plants had wilted, overrun by weeds, even the hardy ones weren’t in a better condition. The leaves on the trees have already gone through chlorosis and its corpses litters the barren floor beneath it, allowing poisonous fungi to grow at its roots. Pests have already devoured the now rotting harvest, inviting flies and maggots into the party. All the bees have abandoned the hive in search for a new home
As much as she wished, she knows that her honey won’t bring the garden back to life. She weeps momentarily before grabbing her spades and digging out the weeds. It was a thankless task to overcome, but she works through it nevertheless. Neither the thunder nor winds won’t make her stop, as she desperately tries to revive her garden.
The Honey represents our future spouse. So sweet when you have them, yet the hardest to get and to maintain. Especially when we do not have the resources or knowledge about them. But in this case, my love life has always been fleeting and a fruitless one. It has only given me false hope and pain. The bees feed on my flowers who’s nectars are sweet, yet they fail to pollinate them and multiply.
All it does for me is to distract me from what’s important. And I’ve failed to do so. Now my garden can never be fully revived, countless scars remain due to my neglect, but they are still trying to bloom their best under my care.
