By singing:–”Oh, how beautiful!” and sitting in the shade…
~Rudyard Kipling, “The Glory of the Garden”
Springtime is here and out the door, as my garden tells me I’m right on time. I plant a myriad of roses, herbs and vegetables and remember what a growth in progress
I am as well. There are days when I feel like I’m stunted emotionally, angry or befuddled over something I have no business even thinking about. And when these feelings emerge, they come out of left field. I become overwhelmed with stinking-thinking and self-pity.
You know the thinking I’m talking about. It’s the kind of thinking that says, “I’d be better off back in bed!” or “I’m going nowhere fast” as if running in circles. This reminds me to pay attention and care for my emotional garden.
All This from a Garden?
As I observe my garden in the heat of the sun, I feel a certain sadness in watching the wilted and turned-down leaves react to Florida’s extreme heat.
I imagine I hear my vegetables crying out for relief. The heat often becomes unbearable and I must maintain a diligent watering schedule in order for them to thrive. That picture comes to me because there are days when I, too, feel absolutely drained. In no time, I give my thoughts power by letting them go from away my garden, 
to the sad state of my lawn, the pile of leaves and empty casings from nuts that fed wildlife,, the lawn that needs cutting, the clothes that need washing and have overwhelmed myself without even trying.
What I really need is a refreshing glass of water and a five-minute break to bring me back into myself where my feet are.
Five Things We Can Do Lovingly to our Garden of Thoughts:
- We stay in the moment. One thing we do to bring ourselves out from that bottomless pit of poor-me-ism, is to stay in our hula-hoop of now. When we allow our thinking free rein over our actions, we really do go no where fast. We have to stop right where we are, take a deep breath in, and exhale everything we’re thinking about except for where we are in these moments. Then, we become thought-focused, energized, and available to ourselves yet again to find the next solution to an immediate problem.
- We feed ourselves positive thinking! Instead of allowing the demons of despair to take over thoughts and deplete us of our useful and precious energy, we feed ourselves positive and encouraging messages all day long.
Prior to this, we saw our lives or present situations as being barely resourceful to us or to others with nothing to give to anyone. While we’re nurturing that garden, it stands to reason we would work to find self-assuring, comforting facts about our lives at the moment. If our garden is worthy of personal sweat and backaches, then we are worthy of giving ourselves the time necessary to maintain a consistent level of positivity and faith to the degree we pamper our garden. Taking the time to put facts, strong points about us on paper, is one good way to make them come alive right before us. After all, we have to work to see ourselves bloom and thrive in front of own eyes! Maybe we’re not where we want to be or where we think we should be, but we’re alive, breathing in the sun or the rain, relatively healthy, right where we are. Just like our garden. We are nurturing organisms that spread to others, interconnected, dependent but rich in right thinking if we feed ourselves properly. - We remember we did not build Rome in a day. That’s right. And neither is our thinking. We have spent too many years spinning negative and self-defeating thoughts which, in turn, produced negative and self-defeating actions. If we are to recreate our thinking we remember that, just like growing a beautiful garden, new and exciting thoughts and efforts take time to change a lifetime of depressive and self-loathing thinking.
- Get out of our own way and into action. Making ourselves available to help others is one big way we keep the sad stories we tell ourselves at bay. Assertive actions that keep us in the solution such as making a list of things we need to do just for today are also helpful. Balance can be an offshoot which serves to increase our self-esteem and maintain a positive attitude because we’re taking care of business just for today.
- We care of our own self-esteem. Every thing we say and do is an opportunity waiting to engage our highest good. We move with intention and a determination to be the best person we can be, just for today. By avoiding gossip, arguments, and petty manipulation and allow others to be who they are, we become free to be who we are and to extend our inner kindness out, to include others in our world. nWe become our own best example of who we want to be. It just takes practice.
This is how we grow our garden. The weeds represent negative energy and our words represent what we hold against others and ourselves. So, with a gentleness of self, we practice at every turn to nurture our words, our thoughts and our actions, the same way we take care of our gardens, with loving care. We deserve it! It is why we’re here, to give back to others.
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