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We got an invite to visit the neighbors for an impromptu grill. Nothing fancy, just some sausages and a couple drinks. The "occasion" was for the opening of a new part of their garden that they have been working on over the summer and had a few issues along the way with a contractor doing the digging work. So, now that it is done they are really happy and looking forward to enjoying it a little, even though it is now getting a lot cooler. 

They have spent so much time, effort and money on their garden over the last decade and it really is lovely, but they have said that *next year* they aren't going to start any projects on it and just enjoy it instead. As much as I hope they will do this, I don't really believe they will actually stick to their plan, because as next spring rolls around, the bug will bite again.


![IMG_20210806_215621.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/tarazkp/23w2jAYXgbGAqMzYAiUNVXgxvvs5ds7w43yVd22az2jDoznKfAn2Zvh1PUgtL3M8XbXVK.jpg)

While not much of a gardener, I do understand the compulsion involved in doing something you enjoy and not seeing the cost of investment into it. I am doing it now. For me, writing is my garden and I have spent a lot of time growing it. Much like a real garden, there are many tasks to perform in the hope that it will mature and bear fruit. There are successes and failures along the way, as well as a lot of mistakes made. On top of this, you can never control the weather and conditions aren't always conducive to healthy growth. 

People see their gardens as an investment that adds value to their house, as well as something they can enjoy while living there and my account is this to me. I have invested time and effort and a lot of my experience into creating this space over the years and it does add value to my life, and it also adds economic value to my investment portfolio. 

It is funny, before Hive, I *had no* investment portfolio. Now, I have at least changed my understanding about my personal finances and have built up various potential income streams in crypto. I say "potential" because I don't use it as I am kind of like my friends, always growing, never sitting down and using what I have built. 

Many say I should use some and make life better, but it doesn't feel the same as picking apples of a tree branch, it feels like I would be cutting off the branches of the tree. One of the challenges I have with crypto, is that I do not see it as disposable income, I see it as investment potential, so using it is taking away opportunity, not providing opportunity. 

Yes, there is the opportunity that comes with spending, but since I am working anyway and don't have extravagant tastes, we are managing on what we earn. We live as if Hive doesn't exist, otherwise it starts to look much more available than I want it to be and bit by bit, I could start trimming off branches. 

At some point I will get over this aversion, but I think it is going to be when prices are higher than they are today. Maybe a lot higher. This means that like my friends, I am in a repeating cycle of growing my garden and adapting for the climate and whatever may arrive to affect it. While there are plenty of little bugs around, the further we travel along the Hive journey, the deeper the roots grow and the more weight it can support.

I still have the hope that one day I will be able to be completely debt free from my investments into crypto, but I am hoping to do it in more a lumpsum way, rather than a bit at a time. It is kind of like yield farming, rolling the value back in will grow the capital faster than skimming portions of the yield. The risk is of course that the investment potential isn't realized and I "lose the farm" so to speak, and I am well aware that this is a significant risk to consider, yet still willing to take it for now at least. 

Ideally, the markets keep climbing to a level where what I hold is significant or even a life changing amount so that I can use some of it to take away immediate pressures and put out some debt fires, and the rest of it to keep growing the garden and enjoying taking some fruit, without needing to cut down any trees. 

What I like about growing on Hive is that there are so many ways to do it, but all of them take investment of some kind, whether it be time, money or effort. While starting from nothing is possible (many have), it is very likely easier to take a hybrid approach and use what one has available to roll into the investment and what is earned, rolled back in so it compounds at an increasing rate.

The thing is though, life is full of surprises and the weather can change at any time. I know people who have spent years building houses and growing gardens, only to have all their work destroyed by bushfires. It must be a terrible feeling but one of the things of enjoying the journey to build, is being able to start the rebuilding process too. It may never reach completion, but nothing ever does. Everything is in a state of process constantly, with generation and degradation happening simultaneously, life and death working concurrently. 

One of the feelings I get from my time spent on Hive is that people are more positive here than other places. While elsewhere people are focused on loss and death, people on Hive are focusing on gain and life. We all want a better future and I think for a lot of people here, there is a chance to actually work toward that end. Rather than feel helpless, we can feel hopeful.

If am going to invest into something, it is going to be a garden I can enjoy. 

Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]



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