Plant something better
on tending to your aspirations
In my front garden, there is a small raised bed.
For years, I ignored it.
But I noticed something growing, filling the bed and climbing the house.
Bindweed.
I went to war with the bindweed.
I pulled it out carefully, used weed killer and generally did whatever I could to return the bed to a neutral state.
It never worked. The bindweed always came back. Sometimes in 2 or 3 weeks.
One day, someone told me the best way to stop the bindweed was to just plant something else.
Why hadn’t I thought of this? I was so fixated on removing the weeds that I didn’t stop to think what I wanted in their place.
I sowed wildflowers and the bindweed quickly lost steam. After a while, it stopped returning, with no effort on my part.
Don’t focus on clearing away the bad stuff—be proactive and plant something better, more beautiful, today. Something you want to see each day. Whether a fresh aspiration or a renewed focus.
Don’t try to maintain a clean slate that you’ll fill another day. If you value the space itself, you will lose the space. There’s always something ready to colonise it.
Plant and tend to what is most meaningful to you; if you do this well, there won’t be any real estate left for the rest.
Love this analogy.
What came to mind as an example is instead of trying to get yourself to stop negative self talk, you can practice gratitude and appreciation, and find that you don’t have much room for negative self talk any more.