We are all in a steady process of cultivating the gardens of our lives, becoming our best selves , the selves we were destined to be.
The ending of Candide, by Voltaire, illustrates this quite well :
" "There is a concatenation of all events in the best of possible
worlds; for, in short, had you not been kicked out of a fine castle
for the love of Miss Cunegund; had you not been put into the
Inquisition; had you not traveled over America on foot; had you not
run the Baron through the body; and had you not lost all your sheep,
which you brought from the good country of El Dorado, you would not
have been here to eat preserved citrons and pistachio nuts."
"Excellently observed," answered Candide; "but let us cultivate our garden." "
We are here to cultivate our own garden....to learn how to best do
that, how to live without doing harm as much as possible .
To share with others who we feel are on our path and share our same values. A kindred soul, is one who is happily tending their own garden and we notice one day that their garden runs along side of ours and that we are growing the same stately snapdragons, only in different shades.
Their shades compliment ours and we find rest in admiring , at the end of the day, the beautiful moss covered paths and old trees that they ask us to walk amongst with them.
We feel at peace with this fellow gardener. We continue
to tend our own gardens , but we notice, that since we have begun to take respite now and then in their garden, ours is growing lovelier and more serene.
A kindred soul is our compliment. One who enhances our life.
I am leaning towards the belief that kindred souls can be in our lives for
moments, days, years or a lifetime. 
Kindred souls who enter your life do
not bring disharmony to it. If they do, they apologize for their
transgressions and leave the relationship in a good place , even if
you are not meant to be 'forever' kindred souls.
In cultivating our own gardens, I feel the trick is in learning how to
recognize kindred souls that are on our paths for a short time or
forever.
This comes from within. This comes from not fooling ourselves in any
sense. This comes from using all of our gifts of intuition and
instinct.
I guess this is the beauty of cultivating and designing our own
gardens...we can choose whatever we want to have in our garden and
place it wherever we like.
We create places of beauty where fellow travellers can stop for a rest
and a drink from the sparkling stream that runs through the little
field of heather.
By placing a moss covered bench in your garden, or an old twig chair
by a birdbath, you might find now and then, that an unsavoury type has
stopped by.
But, if one day when you are walking around looking for poppies to
deadhead and admiring all the little warblers singing in the silvery
branches, you find an old traveller sitting on the bench with a smile
of love and wisdom as you chance upon him/her, have a seat yourself
and visit awhile.
This just might be a fellow traveller with a great message for you
from far beyond....or , it just might be someone who is there to share
in your garden and has brought a sack of scion wood and seeds that
produce the most beautiful plants of mystery and ever changing beauty
in your own garden...
©JoSmith
