Great life lessons lurking right in my own backyard

Monday morning cup of thoughts

Drazen Nesic Unsplash

We spent the entire weekend in our backyard pruning the roses and hydrangeas and uprooting crabgrass from an area about 10x20 where our apricot tree grows.

As we kindled a small fire in the old Weber kettle, converted into a mini fire pit for the backyard, I felt the urge to prune the plants more vigorously than in past years, cutting away all the dead wood and then some. I had to smile at myself.

A little therapy in the garden?

Because trees and plants continue to send energy to dead wood if it is not removed, we gardeners typically prune once a year in the winter when the plants lie dormant. Once a tree is properly pruned, it can thrive in spring using its energy toward only fresh new growth.

I kept considering the analogy in terms of humans. How often do we put our energies toward relationships or endeavors that are no longer healthy or, in some cases, already dead? And how much new growth do we miss out on because of those choices?

And crabgrass, don’t get me started! But again, the lesson is that crabgrass left unattended is a mess to clean up.

Basic life lessons right in my backyard, what a concept.

Be back Friday with a little something new at Wayward Yogini. Stay tuned.