In our neck-of-the-woods, it is getting cold outside. My flower beds are wet with rain (blessed rain!) and soon the annuals will die in frost. My goal is to get them pulled out before they freeze and turn black.
There are leaves in wet piles. Over the course of the coming months, they will freeze and thaw in turns to decompose into simple components that will become part of the soil.
When left alone, nature decays. Weeds grow and wind themselves around everything they touch, sometimes strangling or simply crowding out the colorful flowers we hope will thrive!
Our minds are much the same.
Being wishy-washy about what to do with what easily floats into our minds leads to decay and a decline in our thinking patterns. So much of what we want to think and feel doesn’t just come to us on a floating silver platter!
It is a choice.
If we want stunning flower beds, we must remove the weeds that automatically grow.
If we want to raise produce, we have to keep weeds from competing with our plants for water, sun and nutrients. We also have to feed the soil and keep pests away.
The law of the harvest is alive and well every day (and sometimes in the middle of the night) when it comes to our thinking habits.
What thoughts do you want to plant?
How fertile is the soil of your mind? Is it fed with self-care; with inspirational words of wisdom and love; with a desire to progress and grow?
For planting on purpose, here is a hint to make that process most effective: consider what thoughts and feelings are sapping your energy or challenging your confidence; find the opposite truths and create declarations that are the positive flip-sides of those negatives!
Example: I might recognize that my shoulders are rising closer to my ears with stress or that I am dreading some upcoming challenge. As fast as I can, as soon as it crosses my mind that my body is reacting to stressful thoughts, I express gratitude to God, ask for His help and then re-frame my thoughts to release the tension and build my courage.
My prayer might sound something like,
“Heavenly Father, I thank Thee for my life! I’m so grateful to be here. With Thy help I know I can accomplish the needs of this day. Please help me to know Thy will and feel Thy love, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.”
Then to counsel myself, I might say;
“I am safe. I can meet the challenges of ________ in this day. I love my life and I choose to let go of tension and strain. I am creative. I choose to see _______ as an opportunity to learn. If I make a mistake, it only means that I am human and tomorrow I will try again.”
When the words about letting go of tension and strain cross my mind, my head will often automatically begin gently turning side-to-side. I may stretch and roll my shoulders. It’s important to think back carefully to exactly what thoughts started the tension in the first place, then I can switch those around and water and nourish my mind and soul with the power of love, self-acceptance, my trust in God and His desires for my life.
It is such an honor, and pretty heady too, to realize that we have the power to direct our thoughts, our feelings, our healing and our joyful experiences!
Isn’t it great to be alive?
I wish you a day of flexing the muscles of your agent-hood in a positive and powerful way!
Much love to you,
Jacque