Nurture your Garden, sustain yourself

With Spring turning into summer, nature’s abundance is in full view. Growing plants, blossoming flowers, singing birds and bumbling bees are aplenty. Just to breathe in the fresh floral scents and aromatic bouquets brings such peace and contentment. I feel especially blessed to have a garden where I can walk barefoot and touch the trees, whispering gratitude for their beauty and natural generosity.
 
But I notice something else too. Weeds. They are everywhere because I have let them grow. Because they bring drought resistant greenery, because they are soft under my feet, because they have little flowers that tantalize the senses. But I digress… the weeds have overtaken the yard, suffocating what once was a thriving garden. I let myself get too complacent.
 
So I get down on hands and knees and I start pulling. It feels so good, so cathartic to get rid of what no longer serves me. They may have had a purpose at one time, but I am ready to let them go.
 
In its place now are vast swaths of nothingness, gaps in the lawn and amongst the bushes. Had I pulled them out sooner, the garden would be more whole today. Did I do the right thing? What should I do with this space now? It looks so barren.
 
But I remind myself. You can’t bring something new in until you have the space to welcome it. I imagine what I do next will be a combination of designing what I want and allowing what is already there to expand. Over time, I will adapt my approach, letting go of what no longer works while welcoming what does.
 
Life is a lot like a garden. Things grow. Sometimes we plant them. Other times, they come in uninvited and stay for far too long.
 
In your life, what are you ready to let go of? And with the space you create, what seeds are you ready to plant?