How does your{self} garden grow?

“Of course I’ll hurt you. Of course you’ll hurt me. Of course we will hurt each other. But this is the very condition of existence. To become spring, means accepting the risk of winter. To become presence, means accepting the risk of absence.”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Manon, Ballerina

As March quickly “marched” off the calendar, April arrived at our doorstep with contrasting crisp, clean breezes, fresh blue skies muddled with our coastline dew and sluggish foggy mornings. Now, savoring these “Winnie the Pooh” blustery days, we have disembarked at May’s station!

Connection to others as well as greeting our inner self brings with it reward and risk. To experience spring is to face the challenges of winter. To bloom in the moment of today is to risk what must be left behind or will be no more.

Spring nudges us to shake off the residual chill of hunkering down in winter’s silence of expectations and open our eyes to the lavender carpeting the hillsides and freeway exits alive with a pallet of blooms.  Buttery yellows, ruby reds and magnificent purple hues all sit in wait for us to glance their way and give a nod as nature wakes up. Will we push the snooze button or sit up and get growing?

I love English gardens, splendid landscapes where each stem seems to have a designated purpose, a necessary morsel to complete a masterpiece in nature. The magical array of blooms at first glance can appear quite random yet closer inspection reveals enviable dedication to the absence of weeds and the beauty in each sprout. It is a sincere labor of love, focused attention, consistent time allocation and willingness to learn. Much like how we humans grow; receiving and giving love, attention, time and learning about others and ourselves.

How will your garden grow? Watchful tending to your health, family, dreams, spirit, mood and relationships is to take note of your life.  What patches are demanding that you, the gardener, wake up and pull some weeds, provide more watering care and nurturing?

There is a saying, “If it’s important you’ll find a way. If it’s not, you’ll find an excuse.” How can you make a daily effort to weed out excuses for what is preventing growth? Here’s a few “gardening tips” to consider:

• Breathe deeply.  Taking 30-60 seconds to breathe in deeply (5-7 seconds inhale, 5-7 seconds exhale) allows for calm regulating of your physical “plant.”
• Increase intentional actions to “water” relationships such as focused patience, reducing your judgements and assumptions, smiling more 😊
• Use “Inner” Miracle Grow: Compassionate internal dialogue of being kind to yourself and speaking to yourself as you would to a friend.

Here’s wishing you a season of tenderness to flourish and grow.