I have spent some time in my garden this spring prepping the garden beds and clearing the jungle of weeds that has taken over my space. As a transformational life and mindset coach I often draw analogies from the events and ongoings that are happening around me in relationship to my life. We are constantly being shown where we need to pay attention and do our work and thus I began to contemplate the idea of weeds.
As I tackled the overgrowth trying to clear a path to the garden beds I realized how much these weeds are like our thoughts. I have been working with some weeds in my inner garden, uprooting some very old beliefs that are no longer serving me or in alignment with what I want. I have not been tending to the garden of my life so instead of having a rich and bountiful experience I was experiencing an overgrowth of inner weeds. Outwardly this was showing up as un-truths, numbing out, anxiety, overwhelm and confusion. These noxious weeds had taken root and spread covering the fertile soil and in turn were taking all the sunlight , absorbing all the nutrients while crowding out the new seedlings I was trying to plant. Even when I thought I had been tending to my garden, there were parts I had been neglecting. The tricky part about weeds and our subconscious thoughts is they have a tendency to keep coming back. They remain attached until we bring them to consciousness and pull them out fully by the root.
Bent over and hand pulling each mustard plant I found myself cursing the weeds and wondering why I had let them grow so tall. These mustard weeds were like all the thoughts that were standing in the way of what I wanted, keeping me from reaching and tending to my garden. I coach on mindset and therefore know that all beliefs whether conscious or not have a positive intention for my life. Their purpose is to keep me safe, loved or feeling like I belong or some variation of that. However, they can counter my intention creating a barrier between what I want and what I am currently experiencing. Some beliefs are so deeply rooted in the subconscious that it takes conscious effort and consistency to create a new belief. Just like it takes constant effort and vigilance to assure the weeds do not take over my garden.
If my life was to flourish I had to be better at tending to my inner and outer garden. When I have what I need and I am properly tending to my garden, allowing it to come into full bloom, I begin to attract the butterflies, the birds, the insects and all the good thoughts that support the growth of my garden inwardly and outwardly. The butterflies and the bees are like little messengers helping me to cultivate a positive mindset and helping me to see the beauty that is all around. Everything works in harmony to ensure the many life cycles and success of my garden, reminding me that we are all connected.
When I bury my thoughts or ignore the weeds they root deeply into my being until given enough water and sunlight that they sprout and take over. They continue to spread until they either overrun the garden or I decide to pull them out. The beautiful thing about gardens is that even the weediest have the capacity to recover and flourish. Sometimes it takes a lot more digging, uprooting and clearing out to allow for a process of deep healing to occur. However in turn, a garden can transform into something magical.
I wonder what your garden is like? What are the thoughts that you are holding onto that are not serving? How is your soil? Are you carefully choosing what to plant? Are you properly watering and nourishing your inner garden? Are you offering your garden the gratitude it deserves for not only the beauty it produces but also for the weeds that need pulling? The more aware I am of my garden the easier it becomes to identify the weeds and I begin to understand the nature of my garden and what needs tending.
We all have the ability to create a beautiful thriving garden, yet we have to choose to do the gardening, to do the work, in order to make the garden come alive and flourish.