when i was in middle school, my mom told me “misery loves company,” after i mentioned my friends’ rough days, and why i felt bad that they were hurting. i’ve since abandoned that phrase, turning to a new philosophy: pessimism breeds misery. you have to want to be happy.
now, the want for joy is not necessarily what brings joy, but it is certainly the water being poured into a plant, vital to growing happiness from the roots outward. obviously you need the soil, seeds, and sunlight first, but your plant simply will not grow if it isn’t given the water of your longing. you have to want your plant to grow, and if you don’t, it will refuse. positive thoughts and expectations will breed more positive thoughts and outcomes, if you’ll let it.
and if situational happiness is more your speed, then allow yourself to watch things die, even if you keep watering them. ask yourself why your garden stopped growing, and what it allowed you to see. everyone’s garden goes a little bit dry sometimes, but if you take care of it, if you take care of yourself enough, the roots will rehydrate and you’ll start to love things again – no matter how trivial.
my bones run dry
as my dreams and garden lost.
the roots fall apart,
and soil turns to dust.
growing ground’s no better
than sand in the desert
if my garden goes unwatered
and plants don’t like the weather.
Your poem is beautiful!