The Wisdom of Gardens

I have seen some really magnificent gardens in my time.  They include the rose gardens of Connecticut, the Tuileries in Paris, and a reproductions of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.  My favorite is always the one at home.

When MaryBeth was little and I was trying to put her to bed, we would lie close together and talk about the garden we would plant someday.  I guess the original discussion was generated by the rising popularity at the time of that wonderful children's book, The Secret Garden.

We naturally planned a walled garden, but we planned a multitude of others, too, depending on where our fancies led us.  Our walled garden had one large oak tree in the northwest corner.  Then, there was a pond with great golden carp over which were draped three lovely weeping willows.  The walls were covered in climbing roses, bougainvillea, honeysuckle. morning glories, and moonflowers.  There were rocks around the pond that were surrounded by ferns,and lichen, like a velvet carpet, covered the larger ones. There were gardenias and night-blooming jasmine in abundance in each corner and nestled amidst all that fragrance were wooden benches where we could sit and absorb all that wondrous beauty.......a banquet for the soul.

We planned one garden for just roses......every color...every fragrance.....every size and variety.  There would also be both a kitchen garden filled with herbs, fruits, vegetables...and a medicinal garden.  We would be experts in these areas....get back to nature.  And a "white" garden where every blossom would be.......you guessed it...... white.

Gardens have a serenity about then.....even the wild, unattended ones.  They are one with nature and they
play their part in the eco-system whether cared-for or not.  Everything in the garden exists within the framework nature.  While we are in them, we do, too.

The Wisdom of Moonlight

Diana, the virgin huntress, is the goddess of the moon, which is my favorite celestial orb.  The moon rules much of our existence, from farming to romance, from tidal activity to mental activity, cycles both internal and external.  That is one powerful reflective device.  The moon is not a star which is why it does not create its own light, it merely reflects the light of our sun which is the "star" of our solar system.  Are you confused yet?  Not to worry,  Apollo is the god of the sun and rides across the daytime sky in a chariot driven by Phaeton.  They chase Diana round and round, which is another story.  People "dance" by the light of the moon, embrace and kiss, "moon-bathe".  They eat, sleep, dream and make love by her celestial magic.  Like candle-light, moon-light is flattering, frosting everything with silver, softening lines and wrinkles, and imbuing everything it touches with its ethereal illumination and primal power.  The wisdom of moonlight is ancient and eternal and endlessly renewing.

The Wisdom of Money

This is a hard one.  There is wisdom in money and other financial instruments, but only if they are earned, spent, invested, saved, and donated judiciously.  It can be a hedge against future times of famine, so to speak, a safety net, a life-saver, a protector and comforter if used properly.  It can be the motivator of the worst kind, inducing already weak and twisted individual to new depths of wrong-doing.  The only REAL value money has is the one we (society) sets on it.  In and of itself  it has neither meaning nor value.  It can accomplish great good, make dreams come true, save lives, but you already know the flip side.

The Wisdom of Honor

Honor is the ultimate acceptance of responsibility for something.  It is the willingness to face up  to hardship, pain, sorrow, humiliation, loss and death and give absolutely everything for a principle or cause.  If it proves that your cause fails, your principle is broken, it is the willingness to accept the consequences.  People die for the sake of honor all the time.  Personally, I would rather that they live honorable lives thereby teaching all who come after them that is is better to live an honorable life than to die an honorable death.  An honorable life teaches us how to live.  An honorable death teaches nothing.

The Wisdom of Discretion

This is a big one.  THERE IS SERIOUS WISDOM IN BEING DISCRETE.  You should probably get that emblazoned on your forehead AND a tee shirt.  Being discrete in behavior and communication is NOT.....I repeat.....NOT....the same as lying.  At least not in my dictionary.  Discretion is the choice to say nothing when saying something would cause pain or damage.  Lying is trying to get out of responsibility for something.  Discretion is taking responsibility.

The Wisdom of Sisters

As men have "the good old boys" club, women have "the sisterhood".  This falls outside the bonds of blood or legal relationships and deals with the commonalities that all female creatures share.  That is wisdom for another time.  This is about true, familial sisterhood.  It is a bit more complex simply because bonds that are created by blood, at least in the minds of those involved, are "...thicker than water..."  I am uncertain why the cohesiveness and mobility of molecules, or lack thereof, is relevant, but the mind is a powerful thing.  For instance, my sister and I almost NEVER agreed on ANYTHING, including the handling of our mother's death and dying. Yet, when an outsider questioned my decision-making, my sister was ready to sack Rome with the 13th legion of Gaius Julius.  Like that.  There is a loyalty there that transcends husbands, careers, children, and geography and creates a united front as effective as "the turtle" maneuver of the ancient military.  Does this mean that sisterhood is a concept that is inviolate?  No.  As the song goes, "Lord help the mister who comes between me and my sister and Lord help the sister who comes between me and my man."

The Wisdom of Love

How could there not be wisdom in love?  Sometimes there is a bit of foolishness, too, but only because it is not unusual for a lover to be a wee bit indulgent with the object of love.  In fact the old saw is "...love is blind and lovers cannot see the pretty follies they commit..."  Love may be blind on occasion, but love is not stupid.  The people "in love" may be stupid, but never love, itself.  The wisdom of love is multi-faceted, all-knowing, all-forgiving, all-tolerant, all-compassionate, self-sacrificing.  Is this starting to sound familiar?  Are we starting to sound God-like?  Since He created us in His image....since our bodies are His temples.....then would it not also make sense that, as the song says "....in apprehension, how like a god....."?