Consider this for a moment.
You’re an experienced gardener.
Yes, you may’ve never stepped a single foot in a flower, fruit, or vegetable garden yet you’ve been gardening your whole life.
I watched a beautiful documentary a few years ago called The Gardener. I remember during parts of it that a mirror was used to make reflections off beautiful gardens.
This got me thinking of how each of us is a gardener. You plant seeds all the time whether by your mental, verbal, or physical actions. The results you get back reflect the seeds you planted.
You see all the time how productive you’ve been.
If your mindset is generally positive, you’re going in the right direction. If you’re mindset is often negative (stressed, anxious, overwhelmed), it tells you it may be time to plant new seeds.
Your mental actions are by far the most powerful of all actions you take. A single thought can ricochet into a meaningful result. When you plant lots of peaceful seeds, you get peaceful results. And when you’re peaceful, you’re happy. Remember there is never a time you’re truly happy and not peaceful.
You can naturally start creating the results you want by focusing your energy to the one place you can control. Your mind. Read on for a few steps to take to aid your process.
Step 1: Take Stock of Your Personal Garden
Look at your personal garden now. Scan your physical home, your work environment, your relationships, your health.
Pick up a notebook and make 3 columns on a blank page. For the first column, start writing down descriptive words (adjectives) you notice about your environment. Add these respective titles to the second and third columns – Want and Don’t Want. Go back down the list of descriptive words and make an “X” in the column that best applies – want this quality or don’t want it.
Step 2: Become a Conscious Gardener
Take the paper from Step 1 and make a conscious decision on what qualities (from the list of descriptive words) you want to stay in your life. For example, it may be loving, caring, kind, wise, curious, humorous, poetic. Focus your energy on how to bring these to live even more. Challenge yourself right now to name 2-3 do-able actions you can take.
Step 3: Check for Weeds and Root Them Out
A solid way to be more productive is to consciously select the thoughts you’re thinking as laid out in Step 2. Weed out the ones that aren’t working for you and don’t make you feel peaceful. It’ll bypass a lot of lost time working on things to be productive that won’t get you there.
There’s no need to put lots of energy into these negative thoughts or mindsets. Likely, they’ve already received too much attention and that’s why they’re still there.
No one is perfect. No garden is perfect. However, with effort, you can create a personal garden that’s a truer reflection of the natural state of peace inside you. And, you’re lucky because you’re constantly looking in a mirror by viewing everything surrounding you. It guides you to the place you really want to be.
Your Turn: What is one peaceful thought that you’d like to add to your garden?
I’d love to hear about your garden if you’re ready to share. And, glad to pass along any insight I’ve got on gardening for peace and productivity. Just ask.
And, please share this with any friend or colleague who may benefit from a different perspective and would enjoy planting some peaceful seeds.
Calmly,
Jennifer
