Finding Garden

Really enjoyed reading this essay where the author, Himanshu Nath reflects on the quiet wisdom his father imparts through simple daily routines. After retiring from a demanding teaching career, his father has found solace and purpose in tending to a small garden behind their home. Each morning, he nurtures the plants with the same patience and care he once dedicated to his students. To me a great learning moment that the intensity of career needs to transferred onto something that feeds the soul. It is not about slowing down or checking out but moving to something new and fulfilling.

Nath observes that these "small things": the gentle watering of plants, the careful weeding, the quiet moments spent in the garden. To his father, these not mere pastimes but profound acts of mindfulness and love. They reflect a deeper understanding that meaning isn't always found in grand achievements but often in the ordinary, everyday moments.

Through his father's example, Nath learns that fulfillment doesn't vanish with retirement; it simply transforms. The garden becomes a new classroom, where life lessons are taught not through words but through actions. It's a reminder that the mundane can be rich with significance if we take the time to notice and appreciate it. This reflection invites readers to reconsider the value of the ordinary and to find joy and meaning in the small, everyday acts that often go unnoticed.

I am getting to that point in my life where people ask me if the next job (or the one I am in right now) will be the one I want to retire from. The answer is absolutely not. I need to find the garden to tend.