The house we just moved into seems to have an ever-growing smattering of bulbs buried in its front yard. Because we plan to eventually relandscape to more drought-tolerant native plants, I've been digging up as many bulbs as I can when I'm out pulling weeds and trimming errant rose bushes.
Every time I pull up one bulb, I see a sister or brother peeking out from the dirt nearby. And I have to dig more.
These puppies seem to multiply like crazy, so leaving any unattended in the dirt pretty much guarantees that a whole crop of unwanted plants will come our way in the winter.
As I worked to free some from the soil this weekend, I found myself comparing them to the negative thoughts we all have buried in our overly fertile brains.
It's almost guaranteed that if you dig up one negative thought, you'll find others tangled around its root system, conspiring to give rise to additional undesirable beliefs and actions.
To stop the clusters of negativity from growing wild and taking over our inner sanctuaries, we've got to keep digging and digging until we've plucked them all out, examined them, and assessed whether they're really, truly serving us in any way.
Most of the time, I would say they are not.
But the key to getting rid of them and, frankly, living a more joyful, positive life is to keep on digging. Pay attention to the new (or old) ones that try to crop up. Let your higher self grab a mental trowel, and extricate them immediately. Ask yourself, "How is this thought serving me? Is it making my life better in some way? Do I feel good about this thought?"
If it's not serving you, it's time to toss it into the compost pile.
Freeing up that space in your mental garden will make room for much more beautiful, sustainable thoughts to grow.
This is so true. When you get rid of the negative thoughts, the good ones flow so much more easily. And I think it just gets easier with practice, which is a nice reward. I am not sure that is true with digging in actual dirt, though. :)
ReplyDeleteLike digging in the dirt, I think finding the right tools helps. And the more you practice, the more likely you are to hone in on the tools that work well for you when it comes to uprooting the negative stuff!
ReplyDeleteOH MY GOSH, I just had a moment of negativity and downplaying something as stupid. And I thought why did I say that, it is not stupid. And my next IMMEDIATE thought...what would Melissa say? Seriously. And then I mini-analyzed like I think you might and had to come here and post.
ReplyDeleteJust thought you would like to know that not only do I read your blog, but your positive energy is permeating in my life :)