Don’t Chase Happiness. Learn to recognize it.

Every spring the young woman passed the old woman's garden on her way to work.

The old woman was always there. Kneeling in the dirt. Moving slowly between the rows. Sometimes talking to something the young woman could not see.

One morning she stopped.

What are you growing? she asked.

The old woman looked up.

This year, tomatoes. Kale. Some things I have not decided yet.

The young woman looked at the small plot. The cracked clay pots. The fence held together with wire and what appeared to be a piece of old belt.

Is it worth it? All that work for such a small garden?

The old woman sat back on her heels.

What would make it worth it?

The young woman thought about it.

I don't know. More, I suppose.

The old woman nodded slowly, as if that were a very reasonable answer and also not quite the point.

She pulled something from the soil. Brushed it off. Handed it up.

A carrot. Small. A little crooked.

The young woman held it.

What am I supposed to do with this?

The old woman stood, one hand on her knee.

Eat it. Or don't. But notice what you are holding before you start asking for a larger garden.

The young woman looked at the carrot.

Then at the garden.

Then down the road she had been walking so quickly every morning.

The old woman had already turned back to her work.

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