What Are Your Strategies for Coping With Negativity?

Beata works as a qualified primary school teacher, a councillor for drug and alcohol addiction and a farm caretaker for organic olive grow.

Spiritual blossoming

Plant your own garden, he said...

Raining all day

black clouds

full of water

spilling on

and disappearing

quickly

in the thirsty

red dirt,

washing away

dust from leaves,

I keep going

in spite

of the strong wind

that stepped in

on my path

shivering

dreaming

about

the warmth

of your arms

again,

but where are you?

Thousands of kilometres away,

will be months,

maybe years.

before I see you again.

Surrounded

by darkness

lonely,

cold and wet

lost among raindrops,

laughing

through the tears

calling your name,

waiting

for you

from the other side

of the world,

to answer me back....

I step inside the Adelaide

Botanical garden,

a lonely figure

of an old man

lost among the straight lines

of perfectly bright

decorative flowers

waves at me

and I hurry up

to shake his wet

but warm hand.

He looks at my gloomy face

and smiles,

no response yet?

"What if he finds someone else?"

I fight back my tears

while watching him to pick up weeds

"Plant your own garden,

and decorate your own soul

instead of waiting

for someone else

to bring you flowers,"

he said quietly.

"What do you mean?"

He brushes his wet white hair

away from his face

there is a big smudge

on his cheek

I take a tissue and try to clean it up.

"You have to plant your own seeds,

look just like me,

and watch them to grow,

patiently,

give them time and space..."

He looks around,

lovingly

at the thousands of flowers

surrounding him right now,

" I can only bring them to life

but I can not force the buds

to open,

can I?

It reminds us not to force anything

for things happen in the right time."

The garden is empty in this awful weather

but suddenly an old lady

appears in front of us

hiding behind her brolly shyly.

My gardener takes a bunch of small flowers

he weeded among those

strong ones

and her wrinkled face

lights up in delight

when he places them

on her palm.

"You have made my day,

Mr Flower man,

you have made my day:"

He looks after her lovingly

when she shuffles

slowly

away.

"If you plant the seed of love,

it is you that blossoms,"

he says with a twinkle in his eye.

"Your boss will be not happy,"

I warn him,

"You are not allowed

to give

flowers

away."

"I don't have time to worry about

who doesn't love me,

I am too busy loving the people

who love me,"

he laughs suddenly and extend his dirty hand,

"Let me to clean myself and we go for a coffee,

it looks like you need one."

Sitting in a cozy cafe

sheltered from the wind

and rain

I open up

like one of his flowers,

telling him all

that is bothering me,

he is sipping his herbal tea

nodding his head patiently.

"One half of me

is a hopeless romantic,

that urges me to follow

my heart,

the other half

is so damn realistic,

the one that considering

the best friends' advice,

you know

that long distance relationships

never last,

my family expects me

to be more reasonable..."

He smiles with his sad eyes:

"We have all been placed

on this earth to discover

our own path.

And we will never be happy

if we live

someone else's idea of life."

Out of the blue,

I start to cry.

He lets me carry on

handing me his hankie:

"Cry as much as you want to,

but just make sure

when you are finished

you never cry

for the same reason again."

While I am drying my eyes

he looks at the quote

with a profile of an Q'ero Indian

hanging in an old fashioned frame

above our heads:

'Looking behind

I am filled with gratitude.

Looking forward

I am filled with vision.

Looking upwards

I am filled with strength.

Looking within I discover peace.'

"Lucky man, indeed,"

he smiles at me catching my last tear.

"Every day is the same colour of grey for me,"

I blow my nose and sigh.

"When every day seems the same

it is

because

we have stopped

noticing

the good things,"

he touches gently the china cup

admiring its intricate design.

"I don't know what to do?"

I suddenly cry out.

"If it feels wrong,

don't do it,"

he squeezes my hand,

trust your instincts,

never give up on your dreams,

don't be afraid to say yes,

but don't be afraid to say no,

be kind to yourself,

and let go of what you can't control."

"Look at these carefully,"

he picks up from his pocket few dried out seeds

and place them in front of me:

"If a seed is broken by an outside force,

life ends,"

he carefully wipes bits and pieces

and throws them in a bin.

If a seed is broken by

an inside force,

then life begins,

he gently caresses a burst out seed

on his palm.

He puts his hand on his heart

proclaiming solemnly,

"great things happen from the inside."

"One day I run away from all of this",

by one sweep of a hand

I am making a statement,

I am not going to surrender.

He laughs,

"One day you decide

to design a life

you love."

"But how, I have no idea how?"

"Listen deeply inside you,

within each of us,

there is a silence,"

the old man says,

A silence

as vast

as the universe.

And when we experience

that silence,

we remember

who we are."

After I finish my coffee

and we walk back

into sunshine

that came after rain,

he is holding to my hand

and I support his arm.

One ordinary moment

with one ordinary man

in an ordinary place,

and yet there are moments

which mark your life.

Moments when you realise

nothing will ever be the same

again...

Comments

Beata Stasak (author) from Western Australia on April 10, 2014:

Thank you so much Caroline for your kind comment, somehow I have been very fortunate in my life, every time I fell on my knees I met a kind person who has helped me back on my feet again:) We all need those kind of people around and I just hope to be that kind of person to people I meet in my life...be it my close companions or strangers I just pass by....

CarolineVABC from Castaic on April 10, 2014:

Lovely poem along with great photos, Beata! You were very fortunate to meet such a wise man! I guess, we need to look at things differently when we are confronted with negativity: look at the positive side that it brings because there is always that "silver lining" somewhere:-). Beautifully written with such exquisite photos that go along with it! Keep writing. God bless!

Beata Stasak (author) from Western Australia on February 10, 2014:

Thank you Vladimir, very nice of you to find me here:) All the best from Beata

Vladimir Uhri on February 10, 2014:

Awesome thought in your poem, Beata. Yes, turning negative to positive, this is the way of life.

Beata Stasak (author) from Western Australia on February 01, 2014:

Inner peace is the key, with it the external problems do not disturb my peace and tranquility, then you my fellow follower, you are very kind:)

Devika Primić from Dubrovnik, Croatia on February 01, 2014:

What are your strategies for coping with negativity? is an encouraging hub with beautiful photos and you said it perfectly.

Beata Stasak (author) from Western Australia on November 29, 2013:

Thank you Graham, you are so sweet:)....B

Graham Lee from Lancashire. England. on November 29, 2013:

Hi Beata. A tear to my eye here Beata. Absolutely lovely. You photos are a delight.

Voted up and all.

Graham.

Beata Stasak (author) from Western Australia on November 14, 2013:

Thank you my fellow hubber it is kind for you to say so:) All the best with hubbing, loving and living....B

Dianna Mendez on November 14, 2013:

How beautiful! The photos alone are enough to drive any negativity from the soul.

Beata Stasak (author) from Western Australia on November 07, 2013:

Keep singing and walking on the path, the destiny prepared for you and thank you...love and falling in love, we all been there, some of us still are and we all remember....

Marie Flint from Jacksonville, FL USA on November 07, 2013:

Use the Violet Flame. Singing, walking, journaling--all great ways to cope with negativity brought on by doubt and despair.

MacDonald Chaava from Lawton. Oklahoma on November 07, 2013:

lovely poem; expresses very well the human experience of love, falling in love and of disappointment too. the pictures are great too

Rebecca Mealey from Northeastern Georgia, USA on November 06, 2013:

Beautiful free verse full of deep meaning and wonderfully illustrated.Voted awesome, beautiful.

Judy Specht from California on November 06, 2013:

The pictures match up nicely, Bravo for a lovely poem.

Janet Giessl from Georgia country on November 06, 2013:

So beautifully written and the images absolutely match with the story!

Irfan from Adelaide, Australia on November 06, 2013:

beautifully presented hub as always beata... I was chatting with a friend when i started reading this hub and got so involved in the story that i forgot my friend until i finished the read. some really great wisdom in the words of the old man in your story.

Beata Stasak (author) from Western Australia on November 06, 2013:

Thank you so much my fellow hubbers again for your kind words and encouraging comments....all the best and keep hubbing, living, loving and take the example from our Mother Nature:)

Victor W. Kwok from Hawaii on November 05, 2013:

Epic poetry!

skperdon from Canada on November 05, 2013:

Wow! wow! I love your hub, Beata! It has just the right balance of beautiful poetry and beautiful pics.

Love your allusions to Mother Nature and Human Nature, I can't seem to get enough of it.

I'm going to read it a few more times, just to experience the beauty of it.

Elizabeth Parker from Las Vegas, NV on November 05, 2013:

Beautifully written and I love the images!

Shauna L Bowling from Central Florida on November 05, 2013:

Beata, I love your story. The photos tell another story that parallels the advice of Mr. Flower Man. This is lovely, offering words we should all keep close to our hearts.

Dora Weithers from The Caribbean on November 05, 2013:

So many useful lessons in this poetic piece. Age, the symbol of wisdom gives great advice, and the pictures are excellent. Thank you.

Faith Reaper from southern USA on November 04, 2013:

My goodness, this is a superb and thought-provoking piece here! Beautiful writing indeed and amazing imagery you have chosen.

Profound!

Up and more and sharing

God bless, Faith Reaper

Beata Stasak (author) from Western Australia on November 04, 2013:

Thank you for your kind comments my fellow hubbers and yes I agree being judgmental doesn't help with negativity at all:)

joer4x4 from Philadelphia, PA on November 04, 2013:

Interesting & Nice!

The best way I know how to deal with the negative is to not judge it. I remind myself it just another path to wisdom. It is a great stress reliever.

Chitrangada Sharan from New Delhi, India on November 04, 2013:

Wonderful poem and beautifully expressed with lovely pictures!

Nice and enjoyable hub!

Eric Dierker from Spring Valley, CA. U.S.A. on November 04, 2013:

Very nice article. Keep spreading the love!