Thursday, April 09, 2009

It's Whacking Time Again!

This is one of my favorite times of year in the garden. It's the time when a lot of old dead stuff needs to be cut away. I love this metaphor for life!

I started by cutting back all my perennial grasses. All the dead grass is now resting in my field. I'm hoping that birds will use it in their spring nest building.

Next I moved on to clipping all the dead blossoms from my hydrangea bushes. It is amazing the difference! When I clip away all the dead blossoms from last season, the new buds for this year's growth are much more visible.

I'm working my way through my garden, stripping away all that was damaged or destroyed by the passing of it's season, or the harshness of our winter. There is a lot of old dead stuff that just needs to be cut away!

I do love this metaphor. We humans often cling to old, dead stuff that really needs to be eliminated from our lives... and our minds! We are reluctant to let it go... yet it's time has passed. It is no longer viable or useful. It is just taking up space and drawing attention away from what is real... and what is current.

As I work my way through my garden, stripping away all that is no longer living and useful, I realize that the same process is needed in my thought process and in my inner life. When something is dead... it's time to cut it loose. It doesn't serve any useful purpose to drag it along.

As I cut away the dead parts of my past and my garden, I can see the new life much more clearly. It is inspiring to watch something new and vibrant, emerge from what was dead and dormant!

Happy Spring! Happy pruning!

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