Yesterday I was angry. I read an email that ignited a firestorm in my soul, and I was burning with resentment. My head knew that my reaction was way out of proportion to the present words I read, but my heart was screaming in pain.
I looked out my window and saw the overgrown garden. “I am going to pull weeds,” popped into my mind.
So I went outside in the 100 degree heat and started weeding. I uprooted every resentment and negative thought and threw them in a big black garbage bag. As the sweat dripped off of the tip of my nose, I realized that I was hot! My jeans were glued to my legs, and my fingernails were packed with dirt. I smiled. I was done.
Only I can tend to the garden of my heart, and if I want flowers to grow, then I get to rid myself of weeds. I get to choose who I want to be in this world… one day at a time… one moment at a time. And I want to live in the present moment. I want to live life on life’s terms and deal directly with what is before me. I want to clear out the baggage of my past, so I do not dump it all over everyone around me.
I was done. I tied up the garbage bag and swept up the mess on the sidewalk. Then I walked to the mailbox to get yesterdays mail. There was a package. The book I ordered in June had arrived. Last week I thought the book was late. translate Now I know it was right on time.
Don’t Be Nice, Be Real: A Handbook for Nonviolent Communication by Kelly Bryson, MFT
Sorry, comments are closed for this post.