I want to tell you a short story.
Once there was a lady who wanted to grow an apple tree.She planted some seeds in her garden and tended to it: working hard everyday to make sure it grew well.The woman spent a lot of time taking care of the tree growing in her garden. She watered it, trimmed it, and got rid of weeds and pests so it could grow into the apple tree she dreamed of. The tree grew strong, and after some time it began to bear fruit.
When the time came to collect the fruits of the tree, the woman was shocked to see that her tree bore pears, not apples. She was confused but realized that in her haste to plant an apple tree, she had grabbed the wrong kind of seed and planted those by mistake. She had spent years working hard to make sure she grew the best apple tree in her garden, only to harvest pears instead of the apples she wanted.
A pear tree will never give you apples. The love and care the woman showed for the plant helped it thrive, but no matter how hard you work, if you plant the wrong seed, you will never have what you want?
Are you like this woman? Do you work diligently in your career to have the life that you want, but are struggling to find joy and fulfillment? Are you so rushed and worried you aren’t paying attention to what you are planting? Perhaps it’s time to stop and ask yourself: “What kind of seeds am I planting?”
The seeds in your life are your thoughts. What are you telling yourself every day? What do you worry about? Do you spend more time visualizing your fears or your dreams?
If you dedicate your most productive years to a life in which you are not happy, you can’t expect to harvest apples at the end of your season. Although it happens in the movies, on a spiritual journey, an unhappy journey does not lead to a happy ending. Likewise, planting the wrong seeds can’t give you the right kind of tree.
You deserve to live a life of joy, of happiness, of contentment. And the good news is you can begin today to plant the right kind of seeds.Don’t expect to have a sense of fulfillment from a job or career that does not give you that right now. You might just be watering seeds of regret instead of fulfillment. Perhaps you have never given yourself the gift of consciously deciding what you truly want for your life. What are the emotional seeds you wish to nurture? You get to decide what blossoms in your life.
The foundation of any emotional change is awareness, so to begin, take stock of what fruit you are bearing in your life. What seeds have you planted?
Of course, if the seeds here are our thoughts, it can be overwhelming to try and keep track of everything that occurs to us during the day. Luckily, there’s a shortcut to understanding the thoughts you are nurturing, and it’s your emotions. Thoughts inspire emotions, and because our emotional state is much slower to change than our train of thought, by looking closely at how we feel each day, we can gain an understanding of the kinds of thoughts we are focusing on.
Over the next week, choose 3-4 times or events throughout the day. You might choose breakfast, lunch, dinner and bedtime; or your commute to and from work; any natural “break” in your day that will remind you to pause and evaluate how you’re feeling. Whatever your emotional state, just write it down. If you find you’re worried or feeling badly, resist the urge to berate yourself for it or try to change. Just jot it down and don’t judge yourself.
Once you’ve recorded your emotion, consider what has you feeling this way. Write down what you were worried about, or if a chance comment sent you on a downward (or upward!) spiral of emotion. Perhaps you had a fight with someone you love or you dread facing another day at a job you don’t like.
Of course, sometimes our emotions can’t be easily explained, but do your best to pinpoint why you’re experiencing an emotional state.
At the end of the week, look back: how often were you in a negative state versus a positive one? Are there issues or concerns that keep coming up? Are you bothered or inspired by the same things each day? What patterns can you see? What seeds are you planting: those of your fears or your dreams?
Remember, you are the gardener. You get to choose which seeds you plant, and which seeds you nurture. You will never get apples from a pear tree no matter how hard you work, so it’s time to check your seeds and choose which ones to grow, and which ones need to be dug up and replanted.
I want to help you plant the right seeds and get you in the right mindset to start living the life you want.You only live once. Make sure it is a life that you truly enjoy and find fulfillment in. Make the garden in your mind an oasis for your best self and your most cherished dreams.
While it takes intention and focus to tend to the garden in your mind, trust me—you are worth your apple tree.
