I recently had the most amazing experience and thought the New Year was a good time to share parts of it. I decided to prune my indoor plants. Now those who know me well will tell you that master gardener I'm not, but I've come to realize that my gardening efforts have not so much to do with my gardening expertise, as it has to do with the lessons I learn in the process. My house plants have been growing beautifully, and I might even say out of control, in parts. I tell myself that I need to prune them, but each time someone comments on the "lushness" I don't prune. But, I decided it was time. As I trimmed away the overgrowth, I realized that buried under all that "lushness" were vines that had no leaves, dead leaves, dead vines, and even dust. Though it took me much longer that I had anticipated, I decided that I was going to complete the job.
As I pruned, it became not just my cutting away leaves, branches, and vines, it became a metaphor for my life. How often do I romanticize the outer lushness while all the time refusing to be willing to release some if not all of it so that I can make way for new growth? As I pruned and saw how much lighter and happier the plants and the room looked in the process, I was filled with awe as I realized that my willingness to let go of the "overgrowth" makes room for new growth: new dreams, new ideas, new opportunities, new relationships... Many times the apparent "lushness" is covering a "multitude of sins" (and please don't go trying to figure out what "sins" I've committed. I remind you that "sin" is an archery term that simply means "missing the mark"!), but pruning gives me an opportunity to begin again; to create space for me to grow and stretch into my magnificence. As to the dust that I couldn't even see under all that "lushness"...no wonder my allergies were acting up! And by now you KNOW I'm not talking about the physical "dust" that I swept away. Right?
So here's what I'm going to do! I dare you...no I double dare you to do some pruning as you usher in the New Year. Be willing to cut away some of the "lushness" and see what you find; see what you can make room for. I have more pruning to do and as scary as it might seem, I'm actually grateful for what I may find and even more so for the new growth I will experience. And I take back the part about my not being a "master gardener"; I discovered that I am one after all. What better garden to master than my Spiritual garden! Yeah! Happy pruning and Happy New You!