How does your garden grow?

Are you straining to find the sun because you are not planted in a space of thought that aligns intention, needs, and action? Are you depleted because you have allowed encroaching weeds of self-doubt and accepted criticism to divert your growth-inspiring nourishment?

How does your garden grow?

Are your branches heavy with fruit, standing in the glorious knowledge that who you are is supported by a lattice of determination and intentional living? Do you allow your vibrant blossoms of personal expression to mix flawlessly in a vivid canvas of color, scent, and texture that is the garden?

Like the garden, your stillness vibrates with the energy of growth towards your perfect expression of self. Conditions will sometimes be mild and at other times harsh, as is the cycle of life. Expand into the breath of stillness. Explore your strength. Recognize the beauty of your unique bloom in the rampant foliage of the garden.

When you recognize and accept your unique gift to the garden, it will be easier to see the unique beauty all around you in this verdant space.

Shape how your garden grows.

Start a practice. Everyday tell yourself one thing you like about yourself. Then, throughout the day, recognize one thing you like about every person you see. You do not have to know them. You do not have to speak or interact with them. The practice is for you.

Answering the question, "What do I like about you?" can be daunting. But there is always something to appreciate in every person. Whether it is acknowledging the resilience of a homeless person who finds the strength and tenacity to keep asking in the face of a literal parade of rejection. Or the shoe selection of the person in front of you at the grocery store, curt and impatient with the cashier. That said, the practice is not meant to substitute for helping where one can or accepting rude behavior. It is a practice, for you, so that you can shift your perspective to see more of the beauty within this glorious garden. Every day and in every person.

Appreciate the uniqueness of who you are and the power you have to create a semblance of Eden for yourself in your own backyard.

How does your garden grow?