Patience...is a virtue.

“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience”

Before I started gardening, I knew that I was not always the most patient person….but honestly, now I am starting to realize it more! I WANT RESULTS! I know I said that in an earlier post that I believed the garden would help me transition nicely into a patient person, but I find myself starring at the plot and just wanting some sort of reaction from the plants! I called my parents today, who are both great gardeners and explained to them how frustrated I was beginning to become. They both laughed as my dad rattled of the above quote and explained that the final outcome would be well worth the wait. While sitting at the plot, I took a second to reflect on why I may be the eager person I am. I have come to realize that being at Lehigh has not only been a large transition physically, but it has also been a huge transition mentally and emotionally. Being 70ish miles outside of NYC, I visited recently and found myself absolutely baffled by the pace of life. Everyone seemed to be on a mission, with somewhere to be at a specific time and as humans began to blur together on the city streets, I found my Midwest roots break through as I clearly stuck out as a tourist, walking at my own pace, gazing at the buildings and taking in the sunshine. I asked my friend where the lawn was at her apartment and she laughed. Gardens are basically non existent for home owners in the city. By the end of the trip to NYC, I was moving like the rest of the people around me. Walking with a forward lean, eyes set on a final destination, moving at a pace that nearly doubled how fast I was going earlier in the week and taking more note on the traffic signs instead of the clouds above me. As I sat at our garden, I thought about how quickly I adapted to my surroundings and was quickly rather disgusted. Going back to making the transition to Lehigh, I think this parallels to my impatient nature and frustration with the garden. Everything on the east coast moves at a very different pace, that without knowing, I have taken as my own. I think that this garden will truly help to reevaluate what I value and what is important to me because the simplicity that surrounds the growth of our plants and the pace of mother nature is one that more people in the city need to experience. Life and new growth is taking place in front of our eyes, every second, of every single day and if we don’t stop and look around every once in a while, we won’t appreciate all the little things life and more specifically the patient process of gardening have to offer.