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New Look

11:47 PM
By Maria Shanti
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Challenge

A Little Girl and the Garden

6:25 PM
By Maria Shanti
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Bahai Garden, Israel

Once upon a time, there was a little girl whose dream was to have a beautiful garden.

Most people in her village had a garden but only a few were beautiful.

She loved to walk in her neighbors’ gardens, touch the petals and sniff the sweet fragrance of the beautiful flowers. Roses, jasmines, lavenders, chrysanthemums, daffodils, she loved them dearly.

She loved to catch colorful butterflies and hear the sound of rustling leaves.

But, there was a thing. She, herself, didn’t have a garden. Not because she didn’t have much space in her yard, but because she’s too scared to plant flowers and make a garden.

She’s afraid of failures. What if she failed to plant the flowers she loved.

What if the flowers didn’t want to bloom because she’s not a good gardener. What if the garden turned to be a messy one and nothing grew from the soil.

She felt weary every time she thought about it. Thus far, she never gave a try.

***

Every day she came to the most beautiful garden in the village. She spent hours on walking, reading and playing in that garden.

An old lady owned the garden since long time ago. She smelled like morning grass, her smile looked like a warm sunshine. The little girl often saw the old lady talked to her plants. Whispering something and asking them to grow big and beautiful.

She liked to watch her watering the grass and flowers and fertilize the soil. Sometimes she saw her cut some of the branches. And it made the flowers grew dense and fertile.

‘She must be a witch garden,’ the little girl said to herself.

The old lady didn’t mind every time the girl came to her garden. She never talked to her, she was busy with her plants.

Until one warm afternoon. The old lady walked over to the girl.

‘My dear, I see you come every day to my garden. If you love flowers so much, why don’t you have your own garden?’ her voice was so tender.

The girl gasped with surprise. She never expected that the old lady would talk to her.

‘I can’t. I mean I think I’m not good in planting flowers,’ she finally answered after a few seconds.

‘Why? What was the reason?’ she asked. As the old lady got closer, the girl noticed that she radiated warm and something familiar, so earthy.

‘Hmmm, well, actually, I’m scared,’ the girl replied quietly.

She looked up and stared at the old lady. She stood still for a few minutes. At the end, she told her all about her worries.

The old lady listened to her carefully.

She tapped the girl’s palm gently and said, ‘You don’t know what you will miss if you won’t start anything. My dear, nothing good in this world comes easily, you have to fight. You have to try first.’

‘What if I fail?’ the girl worried about her bad thoughts.

‘You can try again. If your plants don’t grow as you wish, you can try again. But, at first, you have to learn from your failure. Make a note why the flowers don’t want to grow, why the soil isn’t fertile. And give yourself another try,’ the lady smiled.

‘But I am not as good as you. I’m even not as good as other people in the village,’ the girl was still in disbelief.

‘Do not compare yourself with me. Do not compare yourself with others. All gardens in this village are unique. All the owners are also unique. And so are you,’ she tried to ensure the little girl.

There’s a warm feeling inside the girl’s heart when she heard her words.

‘If I try, would you, would you help me to create my garden?’ she asked doubtfully.

‘Of course, my dear. I will help you. With three conditions,’ the old lady nodded her head.

‘I will help you as long you have passion, a strong will, and commitment. Are you, my dear, willing to give me these three conditions?’

The girl saw a gleam in the old lady’s eyes. She’s hesitant for a few minutes then she looked back the lady with a smile. Blissfulness in her little face.

‘Yes, I’m willing to give you my passion for flowers, strong will to plant and commitment to creating my beautiful garden. Thank you,’ the little girl, at the end, beamed with delight.

***

Once upon a time, there was a little girl whose dream was to have a beautiful garden. And she had been trying to make her dream came true. She now believed, as long as she had those three things and follow the old lady’s guidance, she would succeed.

***