It's time to plant something important or special that you want to grow this year. Living on Canada's temperate west coast, on Vancouver Island, I'm aware spring is well underway here. And perhaps like you, I am planting new seeds, for me, in my brain; like others are busily planting their flower beds. Many years ago I agreed with those who say that 'we become what we think about'. I began paying attention to all that self-talk that seemed to so often be critizing me, laughing at me or even shaming me, as if that was the way to get the best out of my life. That nagging discouraging voice was me, 'thinking'. Some say its some interjected voice from my past replaying old messages or attitudes. Regardless, I pay attention to my thoughts, cultivating them with the respect they deserve, as they are so powerful, as I am learning.
Most of my life I've been accompanied with the diminishing voices that consistently registered some kind of dissatisfaction, complaint, envy or fear about what I was doing. Even when I had performed extraordinarily well, as I often did when public speaking or introducing a celebrity to a huge audience. Instantly some soft voice would remind me I could have done it better or should have done it differently. So now, when I hear even a faint hint of such a criticism seeping into my mind, I plant another seed to prevent the old weed from taking root again. It's part of my intention to live in the moment, be aware of what is actually happening, what is real not feared, and treasure the choices I have that make the most of the moment I have. I've come to realize the amazing power I have as a human being, to take charge of my life and choose what I want to experience. Believe me, this has not come easily to me. I resisted and denied it for years. However, at my age it is part of the urgency and the exuberance I feel in having this power to define life as I want it. And yes, I do regret not embracing it earlier.
Not much in growing up suggests how urgent and powerful it is to understand the potential of planting the right seeds in our brains, and tending to them, as we would a garden. Like the garden, our brains will produce whatever we plant. If we're seeing ourselves as hapless victims lin life, we'll likely grow a garden of noxious weeds, each suffocating our otherwise amazing potential or desires. If we see ourselves as superior to others, entitled and deserving of even more, we'll likely produce a garden that briefly attracts attention but quickly sours and squelches everything around it, blighting what we could have been if only we'd planted more carefully. Such gardens are for show, ironically fragile, needing constant attention or they'll quickly die, yet they proliferate, like weeds.
What garden are you planting this spring? Is it full of the rich, rewarding thoughts of how you can express your deepest aspirations and values, those unique desires you have to live your life fully, courageously, with gratitude and acceptance of your unique truths? Is it your garden, or someone else's? Check it out, it's spring again. It's the perfect time to treasure your unique human ability to consciously choose the thoughts and awareness that can empower you to the life you long for: your life, now. Enjoy.
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