Lately I read some articles that viewed gardening as a metaphor. One article gave 11 reasons why gardening is the perfect metaphor for life. How brilliant!  I can now see all of the ways gardening is similar to the work I do with clients. The first reason was you have to be willing to do the dirty work. In comparison, you have to dig a little deeper into the root of things.  For instance, in my yard right now I have some plants and offshoots that need to be dug up.

I have a gardener coming this week to dig these plants up. It wouldn’t be enough just to cut them down without getting to their roots since they just grow back. How many times do we not dig deep enough to get to the core of your resentments or beliefs that you are still holding onto?  Maybe the parent or abuser is not in your life now, but you still adhere to the judgments against the person.

I believe the work I do is psychological gardening. You can weed out old beliefs, lies, and past hurts that have prevented you from thriving. Therefore, you get the old programming out of the way, till the soil, and plant new seeds in good soil. The Bible says that you may need to watch where you plant your seeds.  Are they on soil that can produce growth or on rocks that snatch them away?

The second point is being willing to plant the seeds that produce new plants.  You have to dig the hole, put the proper mulch or compost in, and stick them in the soil. Then you can water them regularly and watch them grow. It may take some work on your part, but anything worth attaining comes by putting out some effort. You can then watch what happens as you allow these things to produce something new.

By experimenting with different things in life you may find yourself not always succeeding. Just like some plants that don’t survive, nothing in life is wasted as you still grow along the way. In summary, dig up the old roots, plant new seeds, and empower yourself with new beliefs so that your life will flourish.