Harvest-time for the inner garden
St Teresa of Avila - a personal heroine of mine - spoke of the importance of tending the 'inner garden' - and I, personally, find the dull, grey days of autumn and winter the perfect time for this (once the spring bursts forth in all its glory, we'll likely want to be doing other things with our time)!
I love to use the analogy of life as a garden: ie, that if we take care to water the garden of our lives with positive intent, pull out any negativity at the roots and let the sunshine of loving thoughts shine down upon it, we'll be giving ourselves the best chance we can of a beautiful harvest. So what do you feel to plant this year to ensure that you will have a harvest of all good things? Are there any weeds that need pulling up that are stifling the growth of other plants, ie, are there any habits or tendencies, if you look searchingly in that mirror, that would be useful to uproot in order for your life to flow free and strong this year?To give you an example that's near to my heart, some of us, 'healing types' in particular (I know this one well, having worked in the caring professions - ie, been a healer/ energy worker/ coach/ carer/ therapist for much of my life), have an imbalance between giving and receiving - we're always ready to give tirelessly to others, but there can be resistance to giving to ourselves in the same way. And if we're not careful, an inner resentment can develop when we realise that others do not, or are not prepared to, give to us in the same measure. This kind of tendency can be a good one to get clear on in this 'nurturing the inner garden' exercise so we can nip it firmly in the bud. And there are of course others!
Once we really learn to nurture ourselves and our own lives, give them what they need to flourish and grow, we start to respect and love the being that we are - and our internal chemistry changes. This in turn creates health in our minds and in our bodies.And once we really get into the habit of tending and cultivating our own inner garden like this, we soon start to radiate health and wellbeing and - you've guessed it - it just so happens that everyone else will want to give us loving attention too. But, guess what? We'll feel so whole, so complete, that we won't have such a need for them to tend our garden any more, because we'll be doing it ourselves!So learn to nurture the oasis inside. Tend it with loving thoughts, let the sun and rain nourish and restore it. And give thanks for your beautiful garden... one that you can enjoy for the rest of your life!
If you would like some help with this process, get in touch for a one-to-one transformational coaching session (this can be done either in person or on the phone/ skype).