The
desired effect of working alone in the garden is to think. Not about day to day
life with questions like what am I doing next? how can I do this more
efficiently? where am I going this weekend? No - thinking in the garden is
about digging deep and asking the bigger questions: what do I really want to do
with my life? what type of work/lifestyle will really make me happy? what do I
want to achieve? where do I want to be in ten years (a DWT question)? Since I’ve
been asking big questions about life, love and happiness, I’ve discovered it’s
not easy mental work! But alas, I’m not the first person to have taken on such
a monumental task, and my predecessors provide guidance through quotes, lyrics
and by example. Punk band or not, Goldfinger has been on my mind lately:
“Thinking
life and living life are two very different things, the first one being harder
than the last.”
When
I was in college I spent a lot of time thinking about and discussing life. I’d
write in my journal frequently to reflect on my actions and thoughts, and had
memorable discussions with good friends on rooftops, in coffee shops and in
rose gardens. Back then I thought Goldfinger’s quote was backwards. At 20 years
old I already had so much figured out, clearly it was easier to think about life than to actually live it. But time has marched on and
life has thrown some interesting obstacles my way. Now, in the face of
adversity I’ve come to realize that tackling life head-on and living it day to
day is, in fact, much ‘easier’ than having some grand plan. Maybe Goldfinger
was right afterall.
And
so, while swinging a pick under hot, sunny skies in Costa Rica I’ve been
wondering “am I living it right” (John Mayer)? Should I plan ahead and devise a
grand scheme for what I want to do and who I will be; or do I live ‘one day at
a time,’ making myself and those around me happy, working hard and taking opportunities
as they present themselves? Do I even need to make a conscious decision about all
this? Do normal people have time to think about how to live life, or is that
only for idealistic students that have finally graduated from a life of
education? Again I’m not alone, and this Robert Pirsig quote given to me by someone
special has also been on my mind:
“…when
you’re no longer thinking ahead, each footstep isn’t just a means to an end but
a unique event in itself. This leaf has jagged edges. This rock looks loose…
These are things you should notice anyway. To live only for some future goal is
shallow. It’s the sides of the mountain which sustain life, not the top.”
During
my last month here in Costa Rica I’ll be staying at one last farm, and maybe
doing some traveling. While the solution to this conundrum may not present
itself before my time in paradise is up, perhaps all I need to think about is…
pura vida!
