Reflections From The Lotus Pond Garden

Over the last year, every time I looked outside of the big windows in the Lotus Room towards the garden and saw how overgrown and wild it had become... I felt a sense of guilt that I had let it get that bad over the course of a year or so.

There were a couple of volunteers that had been helping us maintain the garden by watering and weeding the beds consistently. The garden had been thriving with many flowers blooming that attracted lots of pollinating bugs and hummingbirds. When the volunteers could no longer help out to the same capacity, I wanted to spend more time back there to keep things flourishing.

Then, life happened.

Last year presented me many personal challenges and obstacles to overcome. All of which were distracting me from some of my passion projects (like the garden) and this resulted in weeds growing as tall as me with roots thick and stubborn to pull.

Each time I looked out the window at the garden, I felt more than guilt... I felt the weight of the project piling up on me. Each day that passed, the weeds grew taller, the roots grew stronger, and I knew that the project was just getting bigger and bigger the longer I waited.

Finally, I set up some accountability to START the project. I knew it wouldn't get anywhere close to being finished in one day, but I knew if I didn't start soon that it would only get harder to do. I asked someone close to me to meet me on a specific day and time to work on the garden together. I've learned over the years to ask for help when something feels to big to start on my own. 

That little choice changed everything. Once I started, it was easier to continue.

The garden at Lotus Pond is a popular spot to sit and enjoy the beauty of nature - bees buzzing around, butterflies fluttering from flower to flower, birds chirping and flying through the trees.

The wisest teachers I know have taught me to learn from nature. To look outside and to really see allows me to learn so much about myself and life in general.

So you can imagine, after spending hours and hours in the garden over the last several months, I have learned many lessons, received many reminders, and have had a lot of reflections from what I noticed and observed in the garden. Some of the things I've reflected on were not new lessons but I felt them in a new perspective or saw them in a new context of my life. Either way, the reminders are important and I appreciate them.

I wanted to share some of these reflections with you, with an intention to inspire you to look to nature as a teacher too - reflecting on your own experiences in nature and seeing if there are any lessons to uncover or rediscover.

What I continue to water is what will grow.
Quite literally we need water to survive. This may seem obvious. Yet somehow I forget this in my day to day when I start placing my energy and awareness into other areas of importance. I will sometimes go several hours without drinking any water. Beyond the physical body, I have learned the importance of watering my mental garden through intentional learning, reflection and contemplation as well as practicing concentration and mindfulness. My spiritual garden loves to be watered with meditation, mindful movement, art, and singing. If I place awareness on the practice of watering my mind, body and spirit, these areas will grow. It takes consistency though. I've learned consistency is the best method - a little bit of water in the garden twice a day during a dry season is better than 1 long watering 1 time per week. This concept can easily be translated into my daily lifestyle practices too.

It may not be the first seed that sprouts. Sometimes it's the second, third or fourth round of planting.
Something that is discussed a lot in yogic philosophy, especially in relation to a classic yoga text - The Bhagavad Gita - is to do the work yet release the fruits of your labor. This means to plant a seed, water it consistently, care for it, and then let go of any expectation that it's going to sprout, grow or even fruit. This is a hard concept to practice since many of us like to set goals with specific perimeters and timelines to meet the goals in. I don't take this philosophy to mean to abandon all relationships to goals - but to instead approach our goals and visions with more openness and trust. For example, I knew I wanted to refresh the garden at Lotus Pond and make it more inviting. I didn't know the details of how long it would take, what all I would discover along the way, how many bug bites I would end up getting, or sore muscles from all the weeding. There were days I left the garden feeling defeated by it. Other days I felt like I was making progress. I knew that if I showed up consistently I was moving in the direction of my goal, but I was releasing the need to know the specifics of how I would get there. This gave me more peace of mind as I approached such a large task each week.

Conditions need to be ideal in order for a plant to thrive in the beginning.
This one was so important to me because it reminded me that when I first set out to do something, I am caring for that new habit or action like I am a new plant or seed growing in the soil. When a plant is put into the ground or when a seed is first planted - the soil needs to stay moist and the proper conditions need to be met to ensure the plant thrives. It's not to say that you can't just plant a seed, walk away, and come back to something sprouting. However, it's got a higher success rate of growing , surviving and thriving if you tend to it in the right ways. So with this reminder, If I am starting a new habit in my life I try to set ideal conditions to help me find better success with that habit. For example, if I want to go to sleep by 10 pm at night to get a good night's sleep then I need to make choices throughout the day that create an ideal environment for me to actually go to sleep at 10 pm. That means saying "no" to the afternoon coffee when I feel a little dip in my energy levels, it means drinking more water in the beginning of the day so I don't need to chug water at the end of the day to make up for it (causing me to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night), it means putting down my phone earlier in the evening so I am not exposed to additional stimulation and blue light before bed. These are just examples for my habit - but you can insert your habit and ideal conditions in to make it more relatable :)

The garden attracts birds and pollinators to share in the abundance and help it spread.
The more your inner garden thrives, the more you attract opportunities for joy and growth. You may attract other individuals who are prioritizing the same healthy lifestyle habits you are - individuals that can uplift and inspire you along your wellness journey.

Pests will arrive and it takes maintenance.
When you are living intentionally and creating beautiful things in your life - you will attract many beautiful people that will amplify your visions and inspire you to live with integrity. However, you will also attract "pests" or "parasites" that want to drain you of all your inspiration, energy, focus, and stamina. Be on the look out for individuals and habits that take more than they give to you or others. If you are amplifying all your gifts and sharing them with those around you, it's good to be discerning of who and what get's your energy and attention. 


Every day that I pay attention I can see the subtle shifts.
Watering the garden every day has shown me how fast the subtle shifts can happen. If I'm not paying attention, these shifts are still occurring, but I'm just unaware of them. I think of how often subtle things happen within me and around me that go unnoticed. I try to stay open and present for life - especially the mundane moments. I feel like there can be many gifts in the ordinary day to day things we do if we slow down to pay attention to them with new eyes.

Weeding consistently is required. Proper techniques for weeding reduces injuries and discomfort.
Weeding every day reminds me of doing my practice consistently. Weeding the garden reminds me of meditation the most. When I meditate, I'm able to see thoughts, reactions, feelings, and sensations in my body that otherwise I may not notice. To me, this is like the process of "weeding" through my mind, body and heart. To extract thoughts one by one, notice them, sometimes examine them, feel them, process them, then let it all pass one by one. It feels so similar to weeding. After meditation, I often feel a sense of spaciousness and clarity. Not always, and if I do it usually doesn't mean all my problems have been solved. Quite the contrary. I usually just look at my problems a lot differently after meditation. This is because I've come to accept that the weeds will keep growing, and a consistent practice of meditation is required to keep things in check. However, the techniques for weeding are just as important as the weeding itself. If I am weeding a garden with poor posture, I will surely walk away with unnecessary soreness, tightness, stiffness, etc. If I change my posture to be more ergonomic, like shifting from a squatting position to a table top position and taking stretch breaks, I can stay ahead of discomfort and feel better walking away from my time in the project that day. This reminded me - It's not what I do, but it's how I do it. My attitude and actions have to be in alignment while I'm weeding my spiritual and mental gardens or else I'm just going through the motions and not creating lasting change.

One of the biggest take aways I've learned from nature is the fact of impermanence. Things will come and go. Feelings feel intense then pass. Thoughts feel overwhelming then disappear. The body feels tense then it feels loose and relaxed. Everything is always in flux. Nothing is permanent. The more I lean into this truth, the more peace I feel within my heart.

I am forever grateful for the opportunities I have to learn and grow in this lifetime.

Thanks for reading!

I hope this inspires you to walk outside and learn a little bit from nature today. I'd be curious to hear your thoughts so if you're interested in sharing any nature reflections you have email me at [email protected]

Warm Regards,
Katie Beene
​Studio Co-Owner