Depending on What you Focus On #99
My friend Cindy is a master gardener. I am not. I appreciate great landscaping, though I don’t find it gratifying to do the maintenance, nor do I have the vision for the outdoors in the way she does.
When we moved into a home with land, I had no real idea what was in store for me. Life on a suburban lot is different than acreage on a lake. Both have advantages, and they are different. A suburban lot doesn’t prepare you for what’s in store with heavily wooded areas as well as caring for lake-shore. We’re on a steep learning curve.
One of the many things Cindy has taught me as she works to transform our garden areas is about how nature works. The weeds in the flower beds mimic the flowers themselves. For a novice like me, it’s more challenging as I don’t really know the difference. She does.
Also, within the weeds she’s thinning and removing, there are new plants growing. Tiny sprigs of the good stuff…and she can find them amidst the overgrowth. She’s coached us not to pull them or damage them. They are the survivors in the mess. Her plan is to transplant them once they get big enough.
I don’t have the distinctions of a master gardener at all. When looking at overgrowth, all I see are the weeds. Similarly, when you don’t have the distinctions with people, you only see problems. When you focus on problems, they expand.
Like Cindy, do you have the skill and patience to focus on the good stuff amidst the problems? Or do you only see what isn’t working, what’s wrong and what’s missing? Depending on what you focus on, you’ll either have a beautiful garden or an empty landscape when you’re finished.