Today I want to talk about the garden of the heart.  ”The secret garden” has been heralded in literature, poetry, and song.  I love the mental picture of having a beautiful garden in my heart.  One of my favorite quick prayers that I breathe when I am feeling strong emotions is “Dear God, please tend to the garden of my emotions.”  There is an inherent calm and rest conjured by the image of a lovely garden, particularly with God as the Master Gardener.  It helps me remember the beauty that is possible inside of every person.  There is a secret garden inside of you, too.

I think this imagery is also a wonderfully analogous way of viewing all kinds of things going on inside of our feelings/heart.  Is your garden well pruned, healthy, and thriving; or is it in need of care and a good weeding?  Have you spent time on the landscaping, or does it grow wild with any manner of flower or thistle?  Do the plants produce wonderful fruit for you and others, or do you emotionally and spiritually go hungry?  Do you visit there often, or try to ignore it?  Is it growing and alive, or dying and barren?
Maybe you’ve given away portions of your land in the name of acceptance from others.  If you have, you can feel it.  It feels like not having room to breathe and relax because you have so much to do for everyone around you.  Each person is healthily entitled to their own relational space.  Many times people will give up portions of who they are and the space they need to exist so that others will believe they are a good person, for example.  This is one of the main characteristics of relational enmeshment.  The easiest definition of enmeshment is “I’m OK if you think I’m OK.”  Now we’re enmeshed…my feelings of peace on the inside are now dependent on you and what you think of me.  I’ve just given away some of my power, or my garden, for your cooperation in treating me like I matter and that I’m good.  This is co-dependency.

On the flip side of the coin, there is emotional distancing or cutoff.  Those who fear enmeshment back away from would-be “enmeshers”.  They take pieces of others’ gardens to give themselves enough space to feel safe.  If you have taken others’ land, you can feel it, too.  It feels like constantly monitoring and managing the feelings and perceptions of others.  It offers the illusion of control against the attempted enmeshment of others.  Folks that operate this way take on the real estate of anyone who will give it up, and many-times will withhold love and acceptance to get more.  This is counter-dependency.

Neither one of these gardening methods are “worse” than the other.  They are both equally unbalanced.  One is based on a fear of abandonment (“Take my power, strength, self, whatever…anything but leaving me!”), and the other is based on a fear of shame (“Stay back, because if you get to close to me, you will find out how unlovable I really am.”).  If you take each one a step deeper, they mirror each other.  If someone leaves me, I must be unlovable; and if I’m unlovable, of course they will leave me.  This fear in our hearts is the driving force for all manner of controlling and manipulative behaviors that make us emotionally unsafe for one another.  Both sides are controlling and manipulative…equally unbalanced, equally reactive.  (For more on this, read another one of my blogs: “Two Sides Of The Same Coin”).  This fear is represented in our gardens as weeds.  The fear, like a weed in a garden, has to be destroyed in order for peace to flourish.
When this peace does flourish in our hearts, we begin to interact with others differently.  We no longer seek the acceptance of others by giving up pieces of our land.  We no longer try to get more space than we are relationally entitled to, to feel safe.  We stop the constant dance of reactivity to closeness and distance, trading who we are for the acceptance of others.  We learn how to hold still while being able to move with others compassionately.  We become relationally safe, opening ourselves up to true and deep intimacy.  We learn…inner peace.  Our garden grows beautiful flowers and fruit, and the weeds shrivel and die.

If you would like to learn how to walk the path to your secret garden, and tend to the plants living there, come on in.  Let’s get started!  There is no time like the present, and no one else can or will do it for you.  When it’s time to get your hands dirty and start pulling some weeds, learn how to give land back to people you’ve taken it from, or re-acquire the land you’ve given away…give me a call, I’ll be happy to help you.  Thanks for reading!

Nancy Eisenman, MSW is an individual, marital, and family therapist. She specializes in couples and marriage counseling, individual counseling, group and family counseling. Nancy serves the surrounding areas of Carmel, Westfield, Zionsville, Fishers, and Noblesville. E-Counseling available for residents of Indiana.

©2014, Nancy Eisenman

©2014, Nancy Eisenman

Nancy Eisenman, MSW, LCSW is a therapist at Peace Counseling Group, serving the greater Indianapolis area. Surrounding communities include Carmel, Westfield, Fishers, Geist, Noblesville, Brownsburg, and Avon. For more information, please use the contact form or call Nancy directly at 317.605.7015.