This may sound a little strange, but I have always tried to look at my life as a big garden. Life is all-encompassing for me. It’s the people, places, situations, thoughts, words and feelings. The people in my life are very important to me along with my overall attitude and the way I approach different situations. All of these things are what life is all about.
When my life seems to be running on all cylinders and in perfect harmony, I stand back and admire the beautiful garden I have created. I see the array of colors and people, the beauty, health and vitality is all around me. I always make time to stand back and remind myself that I have tended to my garden of life very well.
When my life, or any part of it, seems to be out of balance, harmony or just a little out of whack, then I stand back in order to see which weeds I need to pull to get my garden back to tip-top shape. I feel that if I allow some weeds to grow in my beautiful garden and don’t tend to those nasty weeds right away then they will eventually take over and ruin the gorgeous garden I have created.
We have to remind ourselves that just one seemingly harmless weed can continue to grow and take over our entire garden quickly. Weeds have a way of getting out of control quickly and even though we still have some beauty in our garden, it’s difficult to see once that one little weed grows into many!
Have you ever noticed that weeds also tend to have a very strong root system? When left unattended, it’s only a matter of days that the root system will sprout new weeds! That tells us that the weeds of life are very strong. They fight for survival and they run deep.
Here are Some Tips To Help Keep The Weeds Out of Your Life:
- If your body is full of weeds like excess fat, declining health, poor posture, increased fatigue, or lack of strength, then you have work ahead of you to clean out your life’s garden.
- If your mind is always consumed with negative thoughts, then you have some weeds to pull.
- If your finances are out of whack and you’re living paycheck to paycheck, then it’s time for a cleaning.
- If you have a conversation with your friends and you are left to feel hopeless or depressed after spending time with them, you should grab your hoe and get started.
- If every time you are faced with any type of a challenge, you immediately think it’s impossible to find a solution, then it’s time to do some yard work.
- If you are faced with an enormous tragedy and you still can’t see a way through it after a normal grieving period, start the cleaning process.
- When you get stressed out and turn to bad habits or high calorie cheat foods, it’s time to pull some weeds.
Tending to our life garden is really no different from anything else we do. If we are constantly tuned-in and aware of what is around us, we can pull those ugly weeds much easier than if we ignore them. Tending to our garden becomes a joy, not a crisis, when we take it one weed at a time. Weeding an entire garden can be tough, back-breaking and tedious. It can also take a long time to clean everything out.
Here are a Few Ways I Tend To My Garden:
- I feed my mind with positive thoughts and feelings. You can call this your life’s “fertilizer”.
- I take time to start every day with a power thought or a few chapters from a positive book.
- I fuel my body with nutritious foods since I find that if I start off healthy, I eat healthy all day.
- I get my body and mind “fired up” in a good way through exercise.
- I’m aware of my thoughts and feelings. If I respond in a judgmental or angry way, I know I have to immediately choose a different thought that is positive.
- I make sure I do things that I love to do every day! The majority of my day is spent at work so I must absolutely love what I do and have a passion for it. As a fitness trainer and coach, I’m lucky to love what I do for a living.
Sometimes weeding also means pulling the weeds when it comes to people. It’s very important to surround yourself with people who lift you up and encourage you. If you allow negative people to be in your life then it’s time to start making some big changes. These people are the worst kind of weeds and they need to be taken care of quickly!
The greatest piece of advice I can ever give a person is to step back and take a close look at their garden of life. Do you see only beauty and positivity? Do you see just a few weeds that you can take care quickly? Do you see an entire garden of weeds and will need some time to clear out? You can begin weeding your life’s garden today in order to plant healthy, vibrant plants and flowers. Let the joy of weeding begin!