The Weed
Hey, good to see you again. Sit back, kick your shoes off and enjoy the story.
I pulled. Nothing. I pulled again. Still nothing.
Drat. These darn stinging nettles have unbelievably long roots. I scowled darkly at the large weed crowding the roses. I hadn’t noticed it before it had already gotten big and vicious, glowering in the rose bed, hoarding all the sun. I suspected that the seeds had blown over from the empty field next to my house. I pulled my gloves tighter around my wrists. It’s nearly impossible to get nettles out once they’ve taken hold; you had to be sure to get all the roots or they return, this I knew. I hovered over the bucket of tools standing next to me, carefully selecting the appropriate utensil for my attack. I decided on the sharp trowel and began working at the base of the rude plant.
I dug in a circle around its stem, being careful not to let it touch my skin. I was acquainted far too well with the red swollen welts such an encounter invariably leaves behind. According to one of my neighbors, contact with the hairs of the plant is supposed to be healthy, but frankly, I’d rather stick to the tea I buy at the grocery store. Digging wasn’t as easy as it otherwise could have been, seeing as the plant was surrounded by several rose bushes with thorns the length of small daggers. I persisted however and managed to dig relatively far down around the top roots and loosen much of the soil.
I stood up, grabbed the plant again and pulled. Nothing.
Hmm. I would have to dig deeper. Determined, I went back to the shed and returned with a long handled trenching spade; this was no time for fun and games. I dug resolutely around the nettle, going substantially deeper than before but being careful not to harm the roses. It was amazing the amount of roots it had. They went on forever.
Satisfied that I had dug down far enough, I grabbed the plant and pulled. Nothing. I pulled again and sort of wiggled it a bit to both sides as I continued pulling. I could feel it slowly begin to loosen its hold; I was getting the upper hand. I let go for a moment and wiped my gloves on my jeans. I just needed to gather my strength and lean into it a bit; my body weight would give me the needed leverage. I grabbed it again, braced my legs, leaned back and pulled with everything I had. At first nothing, then a small shiver, and then all at once a loud ‘pop’ and like a cork coming out of a bottle, the nettle shot out of the ground, sending me flying backwards onto the grass.
There I laid on the grass looking up at the sky. I could feel the dirt which had rained into my shirt and jeans and the welts from the nettle beginning to form on my face and arms. But still I smiled. I was victorious. I had removed the weed from my garden and now my roses could once again flourish in the sun.
As I later stood in front of the bathroom mirror applying ointment to the welts on my face and arms, I thought about my lovely garden and all the other gardens in the world.
Our lives are like gardens. Our thoughts, like seeds, grow in the fertile soil of our minds. The plants that grow from these seeds are the experiences of our lives. If we willfully plant empowering thoughts, and water and fertilize them regularly, then our lives will bear the flowers and the fruits we need to reach our goals and enjoy our lives.
But, if we leave our gardens to fend for themselves, then vagrant seeds, like disempowering thoughts, will take root and grow and if left unchecked, they will crowd out the plants we need to consciously shape our lives and reach our goals.
And weeds, like negative thoughts, are easiest removed if found early, before they can get a strong hold in the soil.
Where there is soil, plants will grow just as where there is mind, thoughts will grow. Either they are of our choosing or they are determined by the wind.
The choice is always ours.
Happy Gardening,
Lisa
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Wow, this is very powerful stuff. This is what I love about visiting your site – you always give me food for thought. I’m going to go plant some happy thoughts now!
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Thanks, Michelle. I find the metaphor of a garden extremely powerful. The concept that we can indeed define and design our experiences through the cultivation of our thoughts and mindset is very empowering. I think we often get lost in the events happening around us and forget (or have perhaps never learned) how much we can influence the outcome of these events merely through our interpretations and mindset. Naturally, working with horses can really offer you the chance to see events and the world in general through their eyes and gives you a whole new perspective. Having any new perspective immediately gives you a bit of distance from your own and also then the chance to examine it and see if it really serves your purposes or not.
Here’s a nice post about changing mindsets: http://tracesuccess.wordpress.com/2009/09/15/changing-your-mindset/
I haven’t read this blog very often, but maybe I’ll start giving it a read more often.
Thanks for keeping up on my blog.
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Guter Post. Positives Denken und Lösungsorientierung ist bestimmt die bessere Einstellung. Ich began schon vor einigen Jahren mich mit diesem Thema auseinander zu setzen und meine Einstellung zum Leben zu ändern. Manchmal gelingt es mir ganz gut und manchmal falle ich in alte Denkmuster wieder rein. Ich merke trotzdem einen großen Unterschied in meinem Leben – obwohl manches noch immer nicht so ist, wie ich es mir wünsche, bin ich viel glücklicher als vorher.
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[...] Illichmann presents Lisa Illichmann » The Weed posted at Lisa Illichmann, saying, “A story about gardens, weeds and [...]
[...] Lisa Illiachmann is a gardener wrestling with the removal of one stubborn plant. She uses that struggle to effectively make an empowering connection to the greater struggle we all face in our lives in The Weed. [...]
That must’ve been a heck of a weed! You provide some good food for thought here, and honestly, you seem to think like I do. I pick up thoughts and inspirations from the littlest things, (in this case, you fighting the weed) that seem to stick with me. Sometimes it’s these minor things I see or do that really remind me of what’s important…
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Yes, it’s often the little things that happen that seem to give us the most meaning. Perhaps it’s because the details are often more important than the big stuff. Or at least that’s the way I like to see it. Glad you got some things to think about. Thanks for stopping by.
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I’d been putting it off. The nettle(s) in our rose garden. There were two. Last time I looked they were an inch tall. I think that was yesterday. Today they were nearly as tall as I am, and far too close to the rose roots. I worried they’d be entangled and I’d tear out the rose roots too. When did I stop paying attention? How did so much time go by? I overwatered the weeds in the hope the roots would be so ‘open’ and full that they wouldn’t grip as tightly as they do when the soil is dry. It worked. No harm to the roses. What I wonder is this: what would be the equivalent of ‘overwatering’ thoughts/ideas/perceptions I need to root out? What do I need to do to make those roots free enough to let go? (I’m serious.)
Obviously I loved this post, and thought you might have some ideas. :)
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@ Jane: Ahhh, I love reading your writing.
Perhaps overwatering a weed to root it out is like analysing and questioning negative thoughts/perceptions/beliefs to disempower them, to weaken their hold and make it easier to remove them from them your mind. If you ask yourself enough questions about beliefs that hinder you, you will begin to see the flaws in their logic and this will weaken them by the roots and loosen their hold.
True, you are giving them lots of thought, like giving a weed lots of water, which normally will strengthen a thought or belief, but this kind of analysis and questioning will break down their hold in your mind and allow them to be removed without harming the roses.
Do you have a better one?
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I like this. No I don’t have a better one…I’ve been stumped on some issues and your post addressed my inner and outer weeds. (now there’s an image) I hoped you had some insight on what might help. I think you’re right. While it’s true that weeds will die if starved of water and attention, so will the rose next to it. So (thinking out loud) by flooding my inner weeds with just as much attention as I would my roses, I have a chance to really see them clearly and root them out. Hmmm. I like your perception! Thanks.
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Wow, this was a truly quality post. In theory I’d like to write like this too – taking time and actual effort to make a good article… but what can I say… I procrastinate alot and never seem to get something done.
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