The “Mind-Garden”

I’ve been thinking about gardening a lot. We had a lovely garden years ago but haven’t been successful at it here but I’ve been thinking about giving it another go in the spring. We will see but as I’ve been thinking about it, I ran across a wonderful quote (still the same book) that talks about a different kind of gardening. Gardening your mind.

“The most important garden for you to tend, is your own mind, Stephan… Think of your mind as a garden and your thoughts as the plants growing there… what do you want growing in your mind-garden?”

Teresa from The Belonging by Katherine Genet

She goes on and talks about how some of our thoughts are like weeds – poison- choking out what’s good and useful. Then about how some of our thoughts are like herbs that are useful to us and those are the ones we need to focus on, water, and help grow. We need to pluck out the weeds and refuse to give them attention.

This has been so me for way too long, focusing on the wrong thoughts, letting them distract me from the good thoughts, the good things in my life I should really be focusing on .

The young man in the story that she is talking to struggled with his relationships with his parents, their not understanding who he was and who he wanted to be, and it was holding him back from what and who he really was. She tells him, “You get to plant the seeds of you are and you get to water the plants you choose, and tend them, and let them grow and flourish in your life. Tend your garden mindfully and constantly, Stephan. Flourish.”

The story goes on to say that he tended his garden well after that. “Plucking out the weeds that were his own self-doubt. Doing his best to plant and water and tend thoughts that were in service to his true heart. Thoughts that calmed him, let him dream, encouraged him, made him kind and gentle, especially with himself.” What a lesson to be able to learn. It’s taken me years to get here and honestly, I’m not always successful but I’m so much better than I was.

After I read this, I had to pause for a bit. It was a lot to take in for me and it did help me realize how much better I am at it now then I used to be.

Over the last two weeks, I’ve been following the hacks offered by The Glucose Goddess, and one of the changes I noticed immediately, was my thoughts and moods. I no longer had those constant dark, depressing thoughts. I found myself feeling joyful, truly joyful. I hadn’t realized that I hadn’t experienced a prolonged joyfulness in so long until it lasted for a few days! Yes, I had many joyful moments but this prolonged joyfulness felt new and wonderful! Being able to tend my mind-garden became so much easier.

Hopefully it will continue to help but either way, I now know that joyful living, and I will tend my mind-garden much better now and know that I get to choose the thoughts that reside in my head and I choose the ones that allow prolonged joy.

Oh, I know, sometimes things happen and we have to deal with them and I will, but I’ll choose to be more mindful, more joyfilled, more in the moment, and yes, I think I’ll start a garden. I may even start it sooner rather than later. Perhaps a little window herb garden is what’s needed for the winter.

Until next time… ♥️