“Our tendency is to be interested in something that is growing in the garden, not in the bare soil itself. But if you want to have a good harvest, the most important thing is to make the soil rich and cultivate it well.” – Shunryu Suzuki

The last few months have been full of changes, redirection, highs and lows. My husband and I are devoting long hours to our respective businesses, and a good chunk of that time is spent sharing a home office, sitting 5 feet from each other.

Some days, sitting there, I feel as if the floor might give way, sending us hurtling deeper into the unknown.

Occasionally, I question my trust in the universe.

The timing of the universe is not human-scaled and it is hard to be patient. I do get messages and they say not to worry. The most recent told me that my needs would be provided as I follow my intuition. Another told me that my life purpose is triggering career changes. I trust these messages, because I know they’re true. Everything I’ve been nudged to do and have been working toward for years has been consistent with messages of a similar nature.

After a while, there is only so much time, energy and focus you can put forth on any path before starting to feel burned out, especially when things are in transition or seem to have temporarily stalled.

How do I deal with this uncertainty and emotional fatigue? I tend my garden. I’m a Virgo, so I’m an Earth girl down to my bones. There is something about the act of digging in the dirt, trimming weeds and plucking spent blossoms that I find simultaneously grounding and energizing. I stop fretting and become of one mind with my garden. It’s a physical act that requires complete attention. You may cause accidental harm to the plant, or miss a small miracle unfolding.

Every flower is a reminder to me that what we cultivate and nurture with love will eventually reward us with its beauty in time. Sometimes they need a lot of hands-on care, and other times, only a gentle watering. Of all the messages I receive, the ones from the garden are those that soothe me the most.