Builder vs Gardener

A Story by iyet

life is pretty if you live it well.

“An Anonymous text from the Tradition says that, in life, each person can take one of two attitudes: to build or to plant. The builders might take years over their tasks, but one day, they finish what they are doing. Then they find they’re hammered in by their own walls. Life loses its meaning when the building stops.

Then there are those who plant. They endure storms and all the many vicissitudes of the seasons, and they rarely rest. But, unlike a building, a garden never stops growing. And while it requires the gardener’s constant attention, it also allows life for the gardener to be a great adventure.”

Quoted from Brida by Paulo Coelho

I couldn’t sleep so I ended up writing this blog entry (whew, it’s been a while since I last posted something here). Forgive me if it’s a bit crappy. My mind’s not working pretty well..

Apparently, with the kind of life I am living, I am quite unsure of which of these two attitudes I am taking. Ideally, anyone would choose “to plant” for it is where growth never ceases; where there is always something new to look forward to; where there is LIFE.

However, there is a bitter reality that we must acknowledge. That is, many of us, if not all (and I am one of them) are actually “builders”. But you know what’s worse? Knowing that these people CHOSE to become builders.

Well, I believe that builders may still be further categorized into two. And I would prefer to be classified under the second group.

The first category would consist of those who, without considering any other options, willfully resigned to becoming a builder. They believe that coming out with something huge or grand or anything that can fascinate everyone else is what life’s all about. They live the early years of their lives working their asses off, determined to build their own “fortress with towering walls” so that one day, they’ll simply sit on its pinnacle, gazing over and marveling at the “wonder” they have made. But sooner or later, they will grow tired of just sitting there and will begin asking themselves, “Is this it?” Then, inevitably, the creator of a masterpiece who was once overwhelmed with pride eventually becomes enveloped with a feeling of emptiness and immense fear of death for the master, by then, had already realized that what he had created within those walls was no stunning success but rather, a grandiose sanctuary of nothing.

Then there are those who, trapped in appalling conditions are forced to become builders. They build walls as well. The only difference is that they do not build walls which enclose some citadel. They put up walls they can later on climb in order to escape from their hard luck. And the good thing about being a forced builder is that your life does not end once you’ve set up your walls but rather, life starts there because then, you have been made aware of the fact that there is more to life than building; thus, giving you a fair chance of coming across and soon acquiring the “to plant” attitude.

See, life is not really so unfair. It gives us options; we just have to make the right choices. And I just realized, while the walls I have already built aren’t too high, I must get past through them and start working on my own beautiful garden.