Follies scattered about the gardens of change…
Landscape follies were the trend in 17th century gardens. A landscape folly is a mock building or structure usually small in scale, sometimes without a back and sometimes even half built to look like a ruin. They were not usually functional, but rather a replica of something more grand. Interesting that a half built garden structure is named for a word also meaning faux pas, silliness or stupidity.
Sometimes it seems as though our business ventures become our follies. What we thought were working titles simply became our chapters. What we thought was our niche simply became a stepping stone. Take it for what it is and move on.
When you kick out of the starting gate on fire with a great idea and burn out before the finish line it can make you feel quite ashamed. Sauntering quietly out of the race while the others are still running wildly is embarrassing. It is like the flush of a party faux pas rising in your cheeks and this is just too much to bear.
Admitting that your life is a string of unfinished projects scattered like follies in a garden, is a burden not worth carrying so you go back to your mediocre life. You put your trophies of ‘almost there’ on the shelf and start a new garden. A personal triumph a little more private might be just what you need.
Ahhh, and the dream of the house in Nantucket drifts away like sand.
The artistic journey of entrepreneurship is one of growth. One brick builds upon the next. One person leads you to the next person. One lesson builds upon the next and the first attempt at creating something beautiful will blossom into something new. There are no mistakes. You are exactly where you need to be all the time. Maybe the last folly you built was an out spring devised for you to meet the brick seller.
The beet red flush of putting something you considered, not good enough, out into the world is an unfortunate part of the process. In my Poem, ‘How to Send a Poem into a Room,’ I compare the act of sending my art into the world to the space between the hand and the bike seat. Who is more scared? The child learning to ride or the parent releasing the bike? Either way, somebody has to let go or the lesson is never learned and we never get to the next phase.
Your 17th century garden might be full of follies, but it is also full of wandering pathways covered in weeping wisteria. Pathways that lead to the appointment you have with a dream. The little things are not meant to be discouraging – they are meant to be lessons on how you will enter the room. Eventually the big picture will start to take shape, those faux pas will become few and far between and your false starts will simply become fuel for inspiration.
No follies in your garden? Well, that just tells me you hired an over praised architect to do the job. The journey begins on your knees – with your hands in the dirt of your dream.
What is your dream?
Become the Person You Need to Become,
to reach your greatest potential…
Hi Nicole,
Yes, there are many follies in my garden and I can tell you that I have no regrets because of the learning and personal growth that came about.
What a beautiful, inspiring, and wise message, Nicole!
Dena
Dena-Lynn recently posted..How to Set Work At Home Boundaries
Thanks for stopping by Dena-Lynn. No regrets only little milestones along the way.
After reading your piece, I was reminded of this, which I read earlier this morning:
You can not beat yourself up enough to ‘be’ who you want to be or accomplish all that you wish to accomplish. Instead, have a peaceful heart & love yourself into expansiveness. Nurture your gifts & embrace your magnificence as the pathway to your greatness in its fullest expression.
Zen, baby. The path with all it’s follies – hard to see my plants for all the garden follies – is twisty and long and sometimes quite beautiful.
Zen Baby! Have a wonderful day full of Satori and Bliss!
I love that you state that we are exactly where we need to be! Your analogy of the child on the bike – who really is more scared – both probably but it takes courage for the parent to release and courage for that child to want to be released.
You are so right the journey does start on your knees – my dream is to build transitional homes for abused women and their children and keep them for 1 year and teach them how to fish…..
I believe in the power of the dream!
I will repost this one unto my facebook for certain!
Nancy
Nancy Shields recently posted..THE EYES – OUR WINDOWS TO OUR SOUL…
I wonder if coming up with a different name for them instead of ‘abused women’ would help them learn to fish. Thank-you for your comment and for reposting. I loved the last guest post you did on your blog. It was really intriguing.
Great question. What is my dream?
To empower one million people to share and live their live of their dreams, the one they were born to live!
On my way and glad to have you along for the journey.
Keep your dreams alive.
Make it a great day!
God Bless,
The GREAT Edward!
Edward recently posted..The 4 Key People Needed For Your Business Success!
You are on your way. Keep up the great work Edward!
Nicole!
. It is you, the creative writer. Your message is so true. The journey is worth everything and it never ends – that’s a good thing. If I hired someone to do the journey, I would miss so much living.
I LOVE your new blog I haven’t been here for a while
Lesly Federici recently posted..It’s Up To You
Thanks Lesly. I have noticed you have been gone a while. We can hire people to do certain things but other things have to be done by us – on our knees with our hands in the dirt.
What a beautiful and motivating message, Nicole.
I’m so glad that I picked this as the first read on your blog because it’s what I needed to hear today.
Thanks so much for sharing it.
My dream is to simply LIVE an ongoing adventure in travel and fun with my Wife, Son and Daughter without the burden of worries. My desire is to have others be able to choose their own adventure as well.
You are right, each attempt- each of the follies in my garden are things not seen to it’s fullest — but they are a stepping stone to achieving that dream.
Thanks so much,
-Jamie
Jamie Bennett | my lead system pro recently posted..Setting Up Your Gravator
Nicole, I certainly am biased because you are my friend, and I have come to appreciate the way you think, but this message is important for EVERYBODY to contemplate. I wish I had someone I respect tell me this when I was quite young, instead of the old fashioned strive and succeed model, which suggests you are only where you need to be at the END of the journey. You have it right – you are ALWAYS where you need to be, and the choice for the next path to take is yours, regardless of how you got there.
Little did they know that there is no end of the journey. Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for your constant encouragement.
Oh, I like that Nicole. Reaching into the dirt of your dreams and designing it as you go. Love your thoughts about the rabbit trails and lessons learned from them. Nothing you experience is ever for naught. There is a reason for each event. Allow the lessons to present themselves and take the appropriate actions from them. What an interesting garden our lives make. Each side path, quiet nook and meandering trail have a tale to tell.
Val
Val Wilcox recently posted..Filling the In-Between
We just have to be more present in our days and fill in the ‘in-between’ as you say. When we become present we can see opportunities even in the things we thought were mistakes.
Hi Nicole,
We all take a different path. No two paths are the same and there is no right or wrong path. It is important to learn from your mistakes and build on them for the future. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for visiting Gary. Yes, the past builds into our future and I don’t think I believe in mistakes anymore. It is all in the way we view things. Everything is perspective.
I can relate to feeling guilty about not completing a goal. That was a problem for me for years. Even to this day I have to consciously tell myself to keep going during the tough times. Just like you said though, we can see those false starts as steps toward our true destiny. I choose to look at them that way. Very inspiring post!
Hazel-Ann La Fortune recently posted..Politics vs Leadership In A Country School
You must have pushed through to get your book published. Congratulations to you on accomplishing this. Writing a book, is something I am currently pursuing and researching. Glad you saw the benefit if the post.
Hi Nicole,
Great post! I have just discovered your blogg and I will for sure return.
When I look around in my (life) garden I see both follies and step stones. Reminders of my past and dreams I had then. Do I want to remove them to build new in my garden? Not totally… not for as long as I understand that these are decorations in my life now to remember who I was then and what worked well and what never did. After all, without those lessons I would not be who I am today. Then I would be lost in the future. For as long as my past is not taking over my future it is a gift.
My dream? I have many and I am going to fulfill them one stone at a time…
With kind regards
Asa in Sweden
Thanks for stopping by Asa. I had to round up a bunch of comments that were sent to my spam folder. Yours was one of them for some reason. Be sure to use the comment luv plugin at the bottom next time. If we don’t pursue and fulfill our dreams what else do we have? Best of luck to you in all your endeavors.