Make Our Garden Grow from Candide. Written by Leonard Berstein.
“Let the dreamers dream what worlds they please. Those edens can’t be found. The sweetest flowers. The fairest trees. Are grown in solid ground. We’re neither pure nor wise nor good. We’ll do the best we know. We’ll build our house and chop our wood. And make our garden grow. And make our garden grow. “
Let’s all face it….there is an abundance of negativity and hopelessness out there. It’s all around. How can we dream our dreams and grow our gardens in such a toxic environment? I am truly grateful this beautiful song came on the radio as I drove my youngest to school. I needed something beautiful to change my thoughts and my focus.
The words in this song are so poignant. We can’t grow our garden and dream our dreams without being on “solid ground”. For me, solid ground refers to a stability and peaceful state of life, free from the trials of quicksand that engulf our thoughts and pull us down. Solid ground is having the confidence in one’s surroundings. Solid ground is a metaphor for an unhindered state of well-being. Solid ground is a perfect place for something to grow.
I really like the fact that the writer recognizes that, even though we can dream of that perfect oasis, there is truly no “garden of eden” that is just handed over to us. The most beautiful trees and the loveliest of flowers exist only when we do something proactive.
We make our garden grow.
We are the ones for change.
We are the ones to plant our own gardens, and harvest our fields.
We build our own eden in all that we do.
We can go forth in quicksand, getting tossed about from other people’s negative views and strife….slowly getting sucked into the muk of life. Or we can stand on solid ground. We either lose our footing, or we can plant and nurture what needs to be nurtured.
Love what needs to be loved.
Be a rock for those who need stability.
Lean on the Lord, who is our Foundation and our Strenghth.
We can’t change the world, but we change the grounding upon which we stand, and begin to “make our garden grow”.
In spite of it all, life is still beautiful. People are still good. God is still in control. Our gardens are still waiting to grow. …
Plant your garden today.
Oh Lord, Make Our Gardens Grow.
Happy Gardening, my friends.