Life wisdom from the tomato garden

I needed a moment of quiet, and thus found myself in our garden amidst cherry tomato madness.

I picked, ate a few, put a few others into bowls.

I listened to what the tomato garden has to teach us - here is what I heard:

Life is more abundant than we give it credit for.

Life is calmer and quieter than we notice.

Nature is never in a hurry, yet everything is accomplished. (Tomatoes helped me remember this one from Lao Tzu).

Even when you think there is nothing left to harvest, there are always hidden treasures just out of view.

Sweetness from the vine speaks to the soul (in a way that processed foods/sugars do not).

It's not how many you pick, but how fully you appreciate the moments spent picking.

The strong smell of the tomato vine and bites from the mosquitos can distract our gaze from the fruit of life. Maybe they are there to strengthen our resolve...

Even if a few accidentally fall into your mouth, instead of into the bowl you were sent outside to fill, no one needs to know. (Wipe your mouth before going inside)

We meticulously prepare things as rectangular raised beds, but life grows un-deterred around such arbitrary confines. How we respond to this beautiful chaos, not how well we made the raised beds, determines our ability to embrace life’s gifts.

Our raised beds are barely visible amidst tomato madness

Finally, a few bits of wisdom offered by my each of my children, when asked what they think the garden teaches us:

If they don’t come off easily, that means they aren’t ready.

The green ones are sour.

You will never always get the one you most want the first time.

There is always more.