WEEDS CAN SHOW THE WAY

I LOVE ROSES
Years ago my home was landscaped and adorned with some of the most beautiful roses I have ever seen. (if i do say so myself)
With a hectic life and a busy schedule, I would make the time to plant, feed, prune, care and nurture this object of affection.
My rewards were many.
Quiet moments at the kitchen table, looking out of the bay window where I had strategically placed four Tropicana Rose bushes. At their peak, they would tower high above the window.
A picture perfect backdrop through the window, framed by the chantilly lace cascade valances.
The Tropicana Roses were my favorite. Long, strong stalks with buds of irridescent orange that transformed before my eyes to brilliant red roses about the size of a small head of lettuce.

I learned many lessons about life while tending to my roses.

Lessons about giving and receiving, lessons about the natural timing of the seasons and lessons about cutting away the old to make way for the new.

The garden provided me with some of my first conscious experiences of being in the present moment.

However, my greatest lessons came from the weeds.

On one particular day, I approached the task of clearing the weeds with a surrendered attitude.
There was no kicking & screaming, no wishing it were other than it was, just a task in front of me that needed to be done.

There was even a moment when I questioned the validity of it's need to be done.

Not because I didn't want to do it, but rather a why? Who had decided that the roses could stay and the weeds should go? (but that is a different post)

It was as if the weeds had heard my silent wonderings.

On that day, they shared with me a small part of their purpose. A look inside my inner world.

I contemplated a biblical scripture that made reference to separating the wheat from the shaff.

As I began the task, I noticed some very unusual insights.

When you are pulling the weeds that have been growing for a while, they are strong and their roots are buried deep. You cannot just pull at the top, you have to take the extra time to clear away some of the foundation and get a good hold on the root.

I thought of some of the beliefs in my mind that were like that.
They may be full grown and easily visible, but it still takes extra time to clear the foundation and pull them up at their roots.

Then you have the little weeds that come out of the ground easily.

I thought of the many little beliefs that could easily be discarded.

Of course, you then come across the little weeds that gather in clusters and gain strength in their roots by doing that.
These take extra time & care. You can't just reach in and grab at them...you end up with a handful of weed tops. You have to be patient and careful, putting your attention on each small weed, one at a time.

I thought of the many small beliefs that had entwined themselves to other beliefs.

With time running short and still needing to care for the roses, I had to call it a day with the weeds. I knew that when I returned again, small weeds I had not had time to take of would grow into larger weeds. And there would be new weeds that I had not seen before.

And I thought of my beliefs.

I hope you have gained some insight, perhaps not the same as mine, but something that feels good to you.

Kat~

WORDS WRITTEN IN STONE

MOST OF US HAVE SEEN THEM
SOME OF US HAVE THEM IN OUR HOMES

Today, I ponder the significance of the place & the depth they have in our lives.

It starts out about words written in stone.......
You know, those rocks that have the words LOVE, PATIENCE, HOPE, KINDNESS & the like etched beautifully into their hard substance so as to endure the trials & tribulations of time.
For some, they are granite coasters inlaid as well with the many colors of passing time.

It dawned on me that I have never considered owning, nor have I seen while visiting homes of friends, stone objects that have words like HATE, IMPATIENCE, DESPAIR, MEAN & the like.

RIDUCULOUS...RIGHT? ? ?

Well, you would think so.

I am sure most of us would not even consider the possibilty of allowing these types of words in stone allowed into our physical existance.
Yet, it occurs to me that we do not have the same vigilance when it comes to allowing these concepts into our mental & emotional states.

With honest measure, I believe, most of us would have to admit that there are times when we allow their presence. We even go further at times to justify and defend their presence.
Even to the point of inviting them in because we proclaim them to be necessary for a situation.

In those moments of clarity in which we see them for what they are, we begin the struggle to vanguish them from our lives. Thereby setting up a endless circle of energy that does nothing but feed their very existance.

I am going to venture into an experiment.......
Starting right NOW, at this very moment, when I recognize one of these words in my thoughts........
I am going to pretend I am in the local craft store or an outdoor art festival and see the word in stone. I will notice it, maybe even pick it up and examine it's texture, then I will place it back and walk away with a firm committment "that I do not want that word written in stone in my home".

I hope you enjoy todays words and that they find a place in your heart.

Kat~