I find inspiration in hearing other people’s stories about achieving their dreams. Sometimes it’s quite straightforward and at other times there seem to be insurmountable obstacles in the way of accomplishing their goals.
I was so struck by a comment in last night’s Landscaper programme that I wanted to share it. A couple had made an amazing garden despite many setbacks. The presenter said ‘an act of faith delivered their dreams’. What a powerful statement!
They had come up with really clear plans to achieve their goal of landscaping an area at the front of their home and wanted their garden to merge into the surrounding rural countryside and provide them with a beautiful sunken garden area in which to relax. This would involve removing an old stone wall and replacing an eyesore of an unkempt tennis court with a small lake to open up the area and allow full enjoyment of the view.
Their excitement and enthusiasm was contagious and it all seemed fairly uncomplicated until the council withdrew planning permission and the changes to the economy impacted adversely on their budget. Their initial response was to give up and just grass over the whole area, saying it was all too hard. Eventually they sat down together and reviewed the situation. They revised their budget and approached the council with their new less elaborate plans. It wasn’t easy. Planning permission held them up a further eight weeks and they missed the best of the planting season.
However, they renewed their commitment to their revised plan and reconnected with the feelings of spaciousness and beauty that they wanted to achieve. It took an enormous amount of hard work to turn their plans into reality and it wasn’t until the end of the project that they really felt it was worthwhile.
