I consider myself a gardener, even though I've got limited gardening experience.
We gardened a few of the years we lived in Michigan, and we've gardened fewer than half of the 17 years that we've lived in Grand Junction.
3 years ago we built new garden boxes and I look forward to growing my expertise by using them every Spring.
The first vegetable plants in our new boxes were small and semi-productive. I was disappointed and blamed myself for being a poor gardener until I visited a friends garden.
We had planted at the same time and her plants were HUGE and she was already harvesting vegetables. I asked her what her secret was.
She replied, "I don't know, we hired some guy and he uses magical soil."
The soil!
When we filled the garden boxes, we purchased something called "Gardener's Delight". But it obviously wasn't.
The following year we purchased some of that magical soil and also amended the soil with our own compost. We got better results, and amended again this year, but there is still room for improvement.
We aren't replacing all of the original "Gardener's Delight", but slowly adjusting and enriching it in order to successfully nurture what we plant there.
Ready for the gardening metaphor? Just as a garden needs rich, fertile soil to grow the best vegetables, you have the potential to grow a beautiful life, but your heart and mind need the right soil.
imagine the garden of your Heart and Mind. What have you planted there, and how is it growing? How rich is the soil your thoughts are growing in and how do you fertilize them?
Here are a few Ideas for enriching the soil of your Heart-Mind Garden:
Seeds of Thoughts and Emotions: Just as a garden is planted with seeds, your mind and heart is filled with thoughts and emotions. The seeds you plant, whether helpful or hurtful, grow and influence your overall well-being. What you focus on grows, so being aware of what you're focused on is comparable to nurturing the seeds you've planted. Every time you react impulsively to a thought or emotion, you are nurturing seeds of that variety.
Nurturing Growth: A garden requires regular care—watering, sunlight, and nourishment. Similarly, your heart needs nurturing through self-care, love, and positive relationships to grow and thrive. Your mind is nurtured by turning toward painful thoughts with compassion and understanding, waking up to the lies you might be believing, and then fostering empowering thoughts.
Weeding Out Negativity: Weeds can choke the life out of a garden if not removed. In your hearts and minds, suppressed emotions and toxic thoughts must be identified and addressed to prevent them from taking over. Journaling is a great way to identify painful thoughts, weed out negativity and begin again.
Seasons of Change: A garden goes through seasons—growth in spring, bloom in summer, harvest in autumn, and rest in winter. We personally experiences similar cycles of joy, growth, challenges, and healing, each essential to our personal journey. Approaching each cycle with humility and awareness increases your capacity for greater heart-mind connection.
Diversity and Balance: A well-tended garden is diverse, with various plants contributing to a balanced ecosystem. Your heart and mind also benefit from knowing how to allow and work through the variety of emotions, experiences, and connections you encounter, which together create a rich and fulfilling life.
Beauty and Resilience: Gardens can be places of great beauty and resilience, flourishing even after storms. You too are capable of recovering from hardships and blooming into something beautiful, often becoming stronger and more vibrant. Take a moment to recognize the ways you have become more resilient and thank yourself!
Connection to Nature: Just as a garden connects you to the earth, tending to your heart and mind connects you to your true nature and inner wisdom, grounding you in what truly matters. That's the richest soil there is!
The harvest from this work is bountiful and satisfying. It will quiet your Inner Critic and open up a world of new possibilities as well as overcoming long-fought weaknesses.
Ready to get your hands dirty? Schedule a free session with me HERE.
Xo,
Meredith
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