What We Want in Life — Dreams of a Zen Garden

Earlier today — while exchanging messages with a friend on Facebook — I went on a bit of a rant about the seeming "loss of simplicity" we're experiencing in our modern world. After we "hung up," an old memory of a time long gone bubbled to the surface...

Many years back — when I was still trying to figure out "what I wanted to be when I grow up" — one of my dreams was to find something like a lovely spiritual or self-development retreat center, where I would get to be the person who made sure the grounds were always peaceful and looking like a beautiful Zen-like garden.

I was in my late 20's then, and thought the perfect life would be to live and work in a quiet and serene place and dedicate my time to making it beautiful; to be charged with keeping it beautiful — simply in exchange for room and board. I could live on the grounds in a minimalistic cabin; just have a bed, a place to eat, some books and a place to write. I would find most of my joy in simply making things beautiful.

Sure, I would get to watch the people come and go, all there seeking to learn and heal. They would find peace and relaxation — even if just for a few days — in the space I helped create. I would not do this for recognition, or for compensation... the purpose would simply be to know that people felt better, purely as a result of sitting on a bench among flowering plants and beautiful landscapes.

At the time, all my friends were busy pursuing their careers... striving to reach the top of their fields and "acquire" everything they could get their hands on. Their dreams seemed all about greatness and achievement; mine were all about finding silence and peace.

I guess I was a bit of a "strange bird." In many ways, I haven't actually changed all that much.

Anyway, I started saving my money to go to spiritual and self-development workshops and retreats already in my mid-20s. I often found myself being the youngest person there... typically by 15-20 years. It always puzzled me that people would wait till so late in life to start questioning; to start finding the true meaning of their place in life. Then again, maybe I just skipped right part my "ambitious and striving years."

As the years rolled by, I watched life around me move at 100 miles an hour and many people I knew getting stressed out and even physically ill as a "reward" for all their striving. And all I wanted was peace. And so — even though I never actually FOUND one — I dreamed of becoming the keeper of a Zen-like garden where deeply spiritual and self-aware people would come.

Some days, I still wish I had pursued that simple path...

Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!

How about YOU? Do you have any old dreams that give you pause to wonder what would have happened, had you followed them? Do you think you would have been better off? Do leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

(All text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is ORIGINAL CONTENT, created expressly for this platform — NOT A CROSSPOST!!!)
Created at 20210730 23:57 PDT
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