your garden of secrets

Have you ever noticed that there are a lot of blogs with the title My Secret Garden?  We all know it's referring to the book of that same name. But did you ever wonder why people are intrigued by a secret garden with its  stone walls?  Is it the mystery of the unknown?  Is it the refusal to share of those who hide it?  Is it forbidden fruit?  Are we fearful of being shut out?  Is it just the call of truth? 

 I had a person tell me a while ago that they like to withhold a little secrets that no one else knows.  Is it one upmanship? withholding?....  Is the wall and lock to keep people out or is it really to keep oneself, the hidden fear, in?

A favorite childhood book ,The Secret Garden, was  written by Frances Hodgson Burnett.  First published as a series in 1910, the story centers on a young girl named Mary whose parents die during an outbreak of cholera.  Mary is sent to Yorkshire, England to live with her recluse of an uncle. Mary’s heart and soul are sick from a lifetime of neglect and she is looking for connection. She makes a friend in her cousin whose mother died when he was quite young.  Mary was told  of a secret garden somewhere on the manor that her uncle had locked up years before.The father has sealed the garden because he cannot bear to see it. I always wondered why one wouldn't want to be reminded of the beautiful memories.

“Secrets are like plants. They can stay buried deep in the earth for a long time, but eventually they'll send up shoots and give themselves away. They have to. It's their nature. Just a tiny green stem at first. Which slowly, insidiously grows taller, stronger, unfolding itself, until there it is. A big fat secret, right in front of your face; a fully bloomed flower perfumed with the scent of deception.”Judy Reene Singer

 Cassandra Clare said,"Lies and secrets, they are like a cancer in the soul. They eat away what is good and leave only destruction behind. 
"When left to their own devices, people lie and keep secrets and change and disappear”,  said Lauren Oliver.

 With determination Mary seeks  enlightenment and discovers the key (truth) .What she finds is that, despite years of neglect, there is still life to be seen in the inner sanctum. It is a mirror to her own needy soul, a once-dead and forgotten garden that will bloom to life again with honesty, care,love and compassion. In the end, her cousin Collin and his father are reunited and the children are able to show him the resurrected garden . Three broken souls are healed by the beauty of nature and the power of love.  It's a  classic story we all long for..that's why we love it.

 So, I guess the lesson of the story is only when the secrets are found and shared ,can the restoration begin, and one can reconcile their grief with the support of others and only then can move on with their life!  And then the garden of the soul that is dormant can bloom again and be shared and bring joy to others. All you have to do is not resist,be open and step outside the pain of the past you have embraced.

My sister-in-laws garden of her restaurant in California always reminds me of what the secret garden might have looked like in the authors eyes. The restaurant in Cambria is called Robins and serves wonderful food  But the best secret is the garden...And I am willing to share the truth and its beauty with you!

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