Matter of the Heart
“Life is a journey without a map…I’ve found the best way to navigate the difficult parts is to seek the paths that bring joy.” – Janice Morrow
My garden has always been a sanctuary for me. A place of wonder and discovery as well as my therapist in so many ways. 12 years ago, it became my saving grace after experiencing a great loss in my life. My mother died the evening of the summer solstice and her death hit me like a freight train after her 3-year battle with ovarian cancer. Nothing prepares you for such a loss.
Returning home to Colorado from her home in Southern California, I spent that summer grieving her loss with every turn of the soil. I found myself talking to her, cursing at her for leaving me, and weeping every time a purple flower would come to life, her favorite color. There seemed to be an abundance of purple Zinnia’s that year. I really felt her hovering there in the garden and actually still do, to this very day.
The garden helped me to find my strength for my own daughter who was in her final year of high school that fall. Knowing she would be leaving the next summer to pursue her dreams at the Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute in San Francisco, I feared for the pain I knew would come when she left.
Leave she did, and the grief was like a knife making the wound in my heart even deeper. Once again, my garden allowed me to nurture the pain with all the planting, nurturing and harvesting.
I found myself gaining the momentum to get to a new normal. The pain eventually turned to gratitude for having had the opportunity to have both of these women to love in my life. Not to mention my son, my husband, and so many wonderful friends and family members.
As I look out at my garden in writing this today, I realize how much it has been there for me over this roller coaster called life. Living in Zone 5 here in Colorado I am subject to the crazy ebbs and flows of weather April through October.
However, there is always something there to delight me and soothe my soul when the storm has passed. My precious garden reminds me that life has its seasons that make each of us who get our hands in the dirt, who we are.
There is a red geranium that was my mother’s that I brought home when she passed away. I cherish this plant and the fact that a piece of my mother’s garden came home with me. At every sign of severe weather my first thoughts go to getting the red geranium to safety (it lives inside in the winter).
There is a little slice of heaven, literally, in that plant that reminds me of how fragile life can be. Therefore, remembering to appreciate those people we love right along with all the gifts that mother nature gives us.
The antidote for each of us might just be to find the joys of life in the little things as fellow gardener and artist Janice Morrow shares in todays quote. I have come to love her work and spirit through her Instagram profile, Fig and Twigs. She too has had many obstacles in recent years that would try the strongest of souls.
Wishing you peace and love in the week ahead. And remember to seek joy and solace wherever, and however you can!
To Your Success and Victories,
- Cheri
Cheri Ruskus, Small Business Mentor and Possibility Thinker
cheri@businessvictories.com • 303-652-1718 • @victorygirl
Need more business clarity? businessvictories.com/clarity
Join the Victory Program
Gain confidence and clarity in your business
Need more help in growing your business ideas? It’s time to get the confidence and clarity you desire for your business. Hire me as your business coach and I’ll provide the strategy, support, and accountability to take your business to the next level over the course of this 6-month program. After joining this program you will get instant access to all of my online courses and will be able to schedule your first meeting as soon as next week!
This is for committed entrepreneurs only and space is extremely limited. Let’s partner up!
Have a few questions first?
Schedule a 20-minute phone conversation
