Grow Your Own Garden
It’s almost summer–the first day of summer is actually tomorrow!–and many of us love to get our hands in the dirt of our garden. I don’t actually fall into this category but I do love the idea of reaping what we sow, so instead of the physical garden, I ask you to imagine the mental garden of your life; a place that frost cannot touch, bunnies won’t chomp on and flowers always bloom.
Here are a few tips to Grow Your Own Garden:
1. Savor Everyday Joys. Smell the fat, dewy peony which blooms so briefly in your yard. Take the 15 minutes to go pick a quart of warm strawberries from your local farm. Get out the dog comb and brush your beloved greyhound for 5 minutes in the sun.
2. Think on It and then Let Go. Don’t attempt to solve everything today. Remember that most of the time, most everything is actually not in your realm of control. Instead of lamenting the chaos of limbo, acknowledge what is on your mind and then release it. Breathe.
3. Study New Subjects. Get ye to the local library! You can get practically any book, DVD or audio CD in the world (if I can in my small, rural corner of the world then you can too). Borrow a different magazine. Join a town committee. Learn something new.
4. Give, Give, Give. Say a prayer. Offer to watch a friend’s children. Pick up random garbage. Mail someone’s letter. Give a friend the business. Donate old clothes. Share a compliment. Give something away on a daily basis. Likely, as is the case with most of us, you have too much. It will come back ten-fold.
Growing your own garden allows for perpetually blooming, your own! What would you add to this list?