The Garden You Can Touch

A clear, nighttime sky is a beautiful sight to behold.

As you stare into the cosmos and its sparkling occupants, it’s typical for a sense of awe to sweep over your consciousness.

Each star is a bright reminder that you are just one tiny cell in this vast, expanding cosmos, and your cells themselves are made up of the very atoms in those stars above.

The thought that you are a small collection of stardust within this vast universe can be a comforting one.

It can remind you that all your struggles, doubts, and fears are inconsequential in the eyes of the cosmos, and in the grand scheme of things, your existence is a mere speck in its timeline. So it’s okay to take a deep breath, relax the illusion of control over life, and just enjoy the experience while you can.

However, sometimes the message isn’t so comforting.

Sometimes the vastness of the cosmos can make you feel so small, so minuscule, and ultimately… insignificant.

It can introduce the feeling of meaninglessness — that no matter what you do in this lifetime, it won’t matter because Earth itself is just one small speck in this crazy universe as well. In the end, the universe will keep doing its thing, with or without your role in it.

But here’s the thing. We can’t answer the questions of meaning and purpose through the immense lens of the cosmos. Those could only be answered under the guise of personal experience, which is grown in the meaningful moments that happen close to home.

While our culture pushes us to change the world by moving mountains:

We often forget that the most important changes happen in the small gardens of our homes.

Your garden is your oasis, free from all the external noise brought forth by the world around it. You are its sole caretaker, and you have the choice of planting the ideas, values, and virtues you want to grow.

The very seeds you plant will become the beautiful garden your loved ones will see. And what they see is what will inspire them to plant those same seeds in their own gardens as well.

Every person has their own garden, and every garden has its own visitors. It is through this connection that good seeds have the ability to spread — if you nurture and care for your space in a way that moves others, then its essence will radiate through everything that it touches.

So next time you feel overwhelmed by the world, remember to look within and tend to the garden you can touch.

It is through this small oasis where real and lasting change is born.

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