I will be the first one to admit that I am not a gardener and I do not have a green thumb. I am always jealous of my landscaping in front of the homes on my street. As I write this, I am still in the ugliest house on the street. One day last year jealousy got to me, and I ran to the expensive nursery up the street and decided to just dive in. This is not how I normally handle life events. As cool as I think spontaneity is, I don’t have a spontaneous bone in my body. Another thing I am jealous about is spontaneity, but that is for another blog on another day. I learned that gardening is trial and error the hard way, hurting my budget by $500. I dug up an area to fill with little bushes and flowers that caught my eye. I am sure you know where this story is going. I failed to read the small print on each label that stated how much water and sunshine each one required because I just assumed that if they got some sun, some shade, and some water - flowers will just show up. Just like life...eat healthy, sleep well, and move your body. You do these three things and things will improve. It is not that easy, but it is a start. I decided that next year I will try it again, but this time I will do it differently.
This is what therapy is – you gain self-awareness, more knowledge and a better perspective allowing you to bloom into a better version of yourself. So, this year...my gardening in the spring will be different.
“You do what you know until you know better” ~ Maya Angelo
Here we are in the month of April and every year around this time I look with green envy at the homes on my street that have daffodils popping up. Beautiful colors of white, orange, and yellow are so eye-catching. They seem to pop out overnight and disappear within a week. I have thought of going to the local grocery store and just buying them and sticking them in a pot outside avoiding the act of gardening because I was not successful the first time around. To my disbelief a few days ago, daffodils popped out in various places in my yard. Did I manifest them? Is someone trying to send me a message that says “Lisa, you got this. Just give it another try.”
I started reflecting about gardening and how it relates to life. Some of us plant the seeds required for a happier and more successful life. Some of us do not have patience for planting the seeds for happiness and think that jumping in with both feet will provide us happiness. Some of us find all the reasons why the seeds will not work and just give up. What makes some of us take one approach over another? Is it because some of us have resources at our fingertips and mentors in our life? Is it because some of us overthink and overanalyze with our monkey mind? Is it that some of us have negative thinking because people have told us in the past that we were not worthy?
Let us all use this time of year to start looking at the flowers around us and remembering that change does not happen overnight. Spring is the time before the busy summertime comes along. Summer does not provide the best scenario for flowers to bloom – too hot, not enough rain, too much sunshine, etc. Summer also might not be the best time for major changes because many of us are busy with kids, summer travel, etc. Spring is the time for change or a rebirth. Start planning those seeds that you have been contemplating. Spring is the time to start working on yourself. It is the time to start working on relationships that do not bring you joy. Maybe Spring is the time to use your powerful voice in home, work, or school so you can breeze through summer feeling happy and free.
When I ask my clients to tell me what happiness feels like, many of them cannot answer the question. I like to say that happiness feels like June and July.
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