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Newsletter - May 2024

​Your Mind Is A Garden

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“Where there is no gardener, there is no garden.” You’ve likely heard this quote before. I like its simplicity. Gardens and minds are places where things grow. Plants grow in gardens; thoughts grow in our minds. But the interesting question in both cases is: Who is the gardener? This newsletter looks at the answer and what it implies. And yes, there will be a link to the Tao Te Ching.

 

At first glance, we may wonder if we really need a gardener. What’s wrong with just letting things grow? The answer, of course, is that there’s nothing wrong with it—as long as we aren’t surprised by the results. Let anything grow in a garden, and indeed anything will grow there. But we shouldn’t be surprised if it soon becomes full of weeds.

 

We may ask: What’s wrong with a garden full of weeds? Again, the answer is there’s nothing wrong with it except that there’ll come a point at which it is not really a “garden” any more. Perhaps “jungle of weeds” will become a more accurate description. If we’re feeling stubborn, we may say: Why split hairs? “Garden” and “jungle” are just labels—so is “weed.” Who cares?

 

Here’s a shot at some answers. Yes, these words are just labels but they’re useful because they point to different things. A garden is a garden because things have been planted there on purpose. What’s more, they are actively cared for. Particular shrubs and plants thrive because a gardener is constantly tending them, removing weeds as soon as they appear, and nourishing and watering the soil. In other words, a garden doesn’t become a garden all on its own. The gardener is what makes the difference.

 

What’s more, the gardener doesn’t make some of the difference; he or she makes all the difference. So, we’re back to the opening quote. “Where there is no gardener, there is no garden.”

 

So, who looks after the thoughts in your mind? Who cares for them? Who decides one thought is to be nourished and another to be weeded out? Well, the answer is you are your own gardener whether you like it or not. So, if you don’t like what’s growing in your mind, you are the one who needs to do something about it. Darn, perhaps we were hoping it was someone else’s job!

 

So what does this imply? What does it take to be the gardener of your own mind? I think it takes three things: responsibility, consistency, and patience. These sound a bit serious, but let’s look at each in turn and use the garden analogy to help us along. To make it interesting, I’ll chime in with examples of what’s true for me.

 

We say a gardener is responsible because they decide what to plant and what not to plant, what’s a weed and what’s not a weed. These are responsible decisions because they have practical consequences. After all, a plant either stays or it goes. If the gardener makes no decision, this also has consequences. Weeds will become more firmly entrenched, other plants will become choked and may die. In other words, it matters what the gardener decides or doesn’t decide. That’s where the responsibility part comes in.

 

So who thinks the thoughts in your mind? Who put them there? Do you want them to stay or go? Are some thoughts taking up so much space there’s little room for others? Are other thoughts getting choked as a result? What are the fruits of your thoughts, as it were? Your thoughts typically determine what you do. What you do determines the results you experience in your life. Do you like the results you are experiencing? If not, what you do about it is your responsibility. It certainly doesn’t belong to anyone else.

 

For me, to be honest, I sometimes wish this weren’t all as true as it is. It would be nice not to have so much responsibility for what’s on my mind. But I do. I know certain thoughts take me in what I consider productive directions and other thoughts don’t. So, why don’t I just think the first type of thoughts and not the second? If only it were that easy!

 

What about consistency? Whenever something grows or unfolds over time, that means it will take a while before the results become visible. This means the gardener needs to keep their vision in mind, and consistently manage the garden so it grows in that direction. If the vision keeps changing from one day to the next, or is forgotten or dropped, then it stands little chance of being realized. Instead, a jungle of weeds is on its way.

 

How consistently do you cultivate the garden of your mind? Do you actively nourish it with ideas and thoughts that will make it thrive? Or do you passively let it be exposed to whatever the world may throw at it? For me, examples of the latter include excessive time on newsfeeds and information streams, advertising that tries to make me think a certain way, and much of social media. Another good example is when I tell myself I’m doing “research” on the internet and find myself distracted for way longer than I intended with nothing to show for it. Other examples include picking out things from the past to regret, or unlikely scenarios from the future to worry about. Unless I’m consciously learning from the past or planning realistically for the future, none of this is part of my vision. So why am I thinking about it?

 

Finally, what about patience? Gardening takes time. There’s no way around it. Seeds may take weeks and months to grow into plants. Shrubs and saplings take years to grow into trees. There’s nothing quick about gardening. I think it’s the same with cultivating my mind. There’s nothing quick about that. In fact, I suspect it takes a lifetime.

 

So, where has this exploration taken us? And what does all this have to do with the Tao Te Ching? Well, the answer to the first question is, if nothing else, hopefully to smile at the aptness of the garden analogy. The answer to the second question is perhaps a little surprising. So far, I’ve spoken about cultivating thoughts like that’s a good thing. Actually, the Tao Te Ching goes one step further when it asks us to consider dropping the importance we attach to thought as a whole. Wait what?

 

“Empty your mind of all thoughts. Let your heart be at peace” (chapter 16). “Do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving till the right action arises by itself?” (chapter 15). What’s going on here? Is Lao Tzu suggesting we should have a garden with no plants at all? Is he suggesting we should act thoughtlessly?

 

I think what’s going on is that Lao Tzu is suggesting that what matters more than our thoughts is our actions. He also suggests that, more often than we may think, the right action will appear “by itself” if we have the patience. So, the message I take away is that thought has its place and time—but it’s just not everywhere and all of the time. However we arrive at them, our actions are the only things that makes a difference. That said, we certainly live in the gardens of our minds. And, whether we like it or not, thoughts will grow there. So, as I see it, we might as well be actively involved and step up to our role as gardeners.

 

If you have any thoughts you’d like to share, you can get in touch with me by:

 

Thanks for reading. Please feel free to share this newsletter.

 

Francis

 

IN OTHER NEWS...

 

New book coming! - I've written a new book. It's scheduled to be published in mid-July. The title is There Is No Somewhere Else: Insights from the Tao Te Ching. More details next time.

 

In Harmony with the Tao - is available as an e-book, or as a paperback or hardcover from your nearest independent book store, or from Amazon.com, or from Amazon.ca. As of early March, it's also available as an audiobook (you can listen to a sample), click link below as appropriate:

 

Reviews - If you have read and enjoyed this book, please consider leaving an online review. You can do so by clicking here.

 

Past newsletters - www.inharmonywiththetao.com/newsletter

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