Be like a bee!

I’ve been spending a lot more time in our yard as Spring has arrived in Minnesota.

There are leaves and branches to be picked up, landscaping beds that need care, and plants that need pruning and in some cases planting. While I was in the yard working this past weekend, a neighbor kid walked up and started the 20 questions game asking me some of the following:

• When did you start landscaping?

• How often do you replace the mulch?

• How do you decide how much of the old mulch to remove?

• And more!

The final question she asked made me think a bit more. She asked, “do you like landscaping?”

I’m no professional landscaper like my good friend Tim Eilbes; who you should call for all of your landscaping, lawn maintenance, tree and snow removal needs in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin; so it’s definitely not my day job. In addition, I was covered in dirt, my back was starting to hurt and I was a bit tired. The actual work itself was really hard.

I then thought about my life’s work - learning. There are parts of the process that are fun and engaging including when you learn about something new or make a breakthrough, but the reality is that practicing skills is hard, and learning by making mistakes can be painful, physically and mentally.

So do I like landscaping? and learning? I wondered about the bee going from flower to flower collecting pollen, its legs covered and “dirty” with an endless supply of work.

While we can’t talk to bees like we saw in Jerry Seinfeld’s “Bee Movie,” my guess is that the bees like their work. Hard work while at times can be tiring, dirty and even painful, it’s worth the effort because of the outcome - honey and of course more flowers to produce more honey.

Bee 🐝 at work: Watch my YouTube Short Video

The same can be said for landscaping as the work creates a beautiful setting at our house, plants that create oxygen and in some cases fruits and vegetables with the help of bees of course. Learning also creates a great outcome, knowledge and skills that can be applied to your work as well as hobbies and more to achieve transformational outcomes.

I have to admit, instead of answering her question, I turned the question back to her, “well, does your dad like landscaping?” She directly responded without hesitation, “no, he likes to sit around and do nothing.”

Kids say the darndest things, don’t they 🤣?!? I guess parents shouldn’t take any time to relax?!?

Learn In The Flow Of Life

Jason