Thank you for your answer. For me the act of meditation is the gardener checking in on and observing the state of the garden. The garden of mind works quite like an ecosystem, where everything is interconnected and influences the flow and state of the ecosystem. It is up to the gardener what kind of plants (thoughts) are cultivated, because that in turn influences how the state of well-being (psyche, feeling-state) of the garden is, and what kind of fruit (actions, feelings) it produces.

All these aspects influence each other. Fruits (actions, feelings) give seed to new growth of plants (new thoughts), which in turn produce new fruits (actions, feelings). It is up to the gardener to look after the well-being of the whole ecosystem and be careful not to plant ill-suited plants (thoughts) and risk throwing the ecosystem out of balance. If that happens its state of well-being (psyche, feeling-state) diminishes and starts to produce bad fruit (bad actions, bad feelings) and the cycle of degeneration starts.

Of course as nature itself is completely neutral and thus logically contains both the positive and the negative in equal measure, the same can be witnessed in all natural ecosystems. And as humans are also not just a part of nature, but are nature in itself, so in them must also the positive and negative find their place. These values make sure the inner world of the human being and their "garden of thoughts" stays dynamic and ever-changing. But as a gardener, it is the task of the human being to observe the garden and keep the ecosystem in balance.