Suzanne's Pearl

Suzanne is the mother of all wisdom. "How you do the little things, is everything." How simple, pure and true. If you get potting soil all over the terrace and do a sloppy job sweeping it up, guess what? You are a slob. It is not "the Sanctuary way." [This was the name of the company where we worked]. You cheat a little and you are a cheat. This keeps us clear of situation ethics and compromise, for the better. Work your best, trying to perfect whatever the task, and--presto! You are a perfectionist. You work, you are lazy; you give, you are a giver; you take, you are a taker; you fake, then you are a faker. Nobody's fooling anybody, and let's not fool ourselves. You can see it in each revelatory gesture.

So, in accepting so vast and decisive an extension, nothing is unimportant. Turn it around: everything is important. How a homeowner treats their garden help reveals their inner spirit completely. It is a good, clean way of thinking, imparting significance to the most modain, everyday chore. And where did this concept evolve for me? With Suzanne in the perennial gardens of Greenwich, with Sanctuary under Queen Cora. It was not her philosophy, unhappily. This pearl belonged to Suzanne, and now to me. There is no such thing as a "trickle up philosophy" in American capitalism. It all comes from the top. When the boss doesn't get it, the project is doomed to that person's limitations and the goes-around-comes-around rules of retribution. This, too, is a very important, crucial truth, a corollary to Suzanne's first pearl. Get beneath the right tent and under the appropriate umbrella if you can, and it will protect you from the rain or sun. Which reminds me of yet another one of Suzanne's pearls, to "Water low." And this is because you don't want to knock the foliage down with a cascade of water from a hose or a bucket, you might encourage mildew in the leaves by soaking them late in the day. And remember that we are working in nature, that nature tolerates imperfection and our mistakes. All the same, we can aspire to do things perfectly It's in all the little things where you will find everything, if we will only look, if we could only see.