HOW YARD WORK HELPED ME KNOW I'M GOOD ENOUGH
A couple weeks ago a wonderful person cleared some brush near my house and today I found myself outside looking at a bunch of dried branches that were tangled high in the remaining bushes. I’m not a fan of yard work but I felt like I needed to clear out the dead branches and was surprised to find that they were really resisting being removed. After working at it a bit I realized that I’d actually uncovered two small trees that I didn’t even know were there!
The more I worked to unravel the twisted vines, some of them covered with thorns making removal extra fun, the more I could see that they were actually cutting into the tree trunks. I started to understand the lesson before me and why the trees had summoned me outside. They were giving me an amazing example of the way that negative beliefs grow on us and can lodge themselves in us to the point that they appear to be part of us.
I slowly released what ended up being a 10 foot long, 7 foot high pile of brush that did not belong in the trees. As I finished up I noticed one last piece of vine and found myself gently unwinding it from the tree trunk, revealing scars in the bark. I offered some healing energy to the trees and stepped back and noticed how bent over they were from being pulled down by the vines. My heart sank a little but then a gentle breeze came along and I was delighted to see how the trees were able to move freely, and stretch and expand into more of the area around them. They felt happy to me! I felt hopeful that they could now continue to grow without restriction.
I’ve stopped at my window several times now to check on my new tree friends. I’m amazed that I didn’t even know those were under there. It’s a powerful reminder for me of the way our negative beliefs can shape us and even obscure who we are.
I saved the last piece of vine that had been so embedded in the tree. I’ve decided to keep it to remind me of the impact of my negative beliefs and the results when we’re able to shift them. When I start feeling like I’m not good enough, for example, I can look at the vine and remember that not being good enough is a belief that isn’t part of who I really am. It’s something outside of my truth. And I have a choice about whether or not I want my thoughts and feelings to stay tangled up with that belief.
That was some profound yard work!
