While I admit it may be kind of a cliché to say that your life is a garden, I think it's a really important thing to consider.

In January of this year, I started building garden beds with a friend and teacher who stayed with us for about four months.

We broke ground on January 7th, and had starter trays planted within a few days.

Somewhere around Valentine’s Day, we had our first delicious bowl of salad greens with our family dinner.

By March 15th, we had more greens than we could possibly eat ourselves. And we began offering learning tours.

It was an exciting time for me, because I was learning how to orient myself to the earth, to the seasons, and to a timeline that a garden creates for us humans.

A radical shift, when you think about it, to go from the instantaneous everything-on-demand reality of life online to the slow pace of dirt and seeds, sunshine and rain, bugs and temperature, humidity and cold.

My life to that point had been a matter of everything being on my own timeline - coming and going as I pleased, dependent upon no one and no one dependent upon me - so as you can imagine, this took some humility to adjust and re-orient.

I still try to rush things sometimes, but the past ten months of living at the speed of the garden has changed the way I relate to time and productivity.

Seeds planted in the ground take time to sprout. Then sprouts take time to grow leaves, stems, branches, and so on. Then flowers come. Then fruits.

Along the way, many plants - like broccoli and cauliflower - freely offer their leaves for inclusion in the morning omelet or the evening’s dinner recipe.

And all of this requires daily tending: watering, planting, dealing with pests and mold and nutrient deficiencies - and even harvesting takes effort; veggies don't just jump out of the garden and into the salad bowl.

All of the things that we do in life are like this, aren’t they? Nothing real happens instantaneously and without effort. Instant gratification is an artificial phenomenon.

When we want to get good at some art, craft, or discipline, we plant seeds every time we learn something new about what we’re exploring.

When we want to have great relationships, we plant seeds of desire within ourselves and seeds of connection with others.

When we want to make a lot of money, we plant seeds in the form of job applications or marketing for new clients.

And the seed-planting is just the beginning. Then there’s the work of caring for and nurturing their sprouts.

Weeds and pests get into the mix, too; self-doubt, laziness, and cynical resignation are some that I deal with constantly.

There are other outside influences that you can’t control, too; blazing summer heat and drought, gusty winds, torrential rain, predators and destructive people... These things affect gardens of ideas and effort as much as they do gardens of plants.

All require the willingness to step up and protect - in other words, fight for - the aliveness that you’re cultivating in your garden.

Since we're cultivating dialogue here, and I'm really interested in what's going on "out there" on the other side of this screen I'm typing into, I want to know:

What's in your garden? What seeds have you planted recently? What is in growth stage? What are you reaping?

And on the other side of the equation: how are you doing with caring for and protecting what you’re growing?

If you’re not getting the kinds of results that you desire, what weeds and pests are you tolerating?

I'd love it if you share some answers to these questions, whether about your plant garden or your life-garden...

2016 has been a year of grounding for me. Deep grounding, planting, and sowing - literally and figuratively.

The early spring’s plantings - in the garden and in my life - are yielding modest but delicious returns now during autumn.

Experiencing joy and connection and laughter on a daily basis is probably the most delicious fruit of all that are in my basket.

Second to that, the creative energy and flow that I am experiencing has restored and amplified my desire to share my work with you.

This eleven-day writing project, in which I’m challenging myself to offer real value in the form of my experiencing and learning, is one piece.

Another is the 12-episode podcast I just wrapped up, in which I explored the ins and outs of raw creativity and productive discipline.

Then there are the projects in the works that I’m feeding and watering that won’t really bear fruit until 2017 gets into full swing.

I’ll share more about all of these things as time progresses and you stay tuned in to the channels on which I’m streaming.

For now, I really do want to know - what’s in your garden? What are you sowing and reaping? And how can I help?

Tomorrow we'll talk about relationships. Love. Sex. You know... all the juicy stuff of life.

See you then.

Shawn