Hello Fellow Readers, I find inspiration in the wisdom of Mike Dooley, a speaker and author including New York Times bestsellers. I’ve had the privilege of chatting with Mike a few years back in Philadelphia while attending one of his talks. I thought I’d share insights gained from his complimentary Love Your Life 30 Day Project underway online that translates to Loving your Garden of Life.
Mary Stone meets Mike Dooley, May 2013
Define goals in areas important to you. Perhaps the abundance of health, love, finances, and time. And in the garden of life, an abundance of harvest, creativity, and spiritual fulfillment as you experience the growth of the plants (and people) you nurture.
Create a focus on what you’d like to manifest. Perhaps transformation. Rather than feeling overwhelmed by tasks, transform your thoughts that everything comes in due time. Be still and take in the beauty of the world around us. Let’s not consider gardening or your job “work.” Instead, play in the magic of life and nature. Then, make a difference by sharing the bounty with others, such as a food pantry or bringing flowers to a resident in a nursing home.
How about approaching everything in the spirit of fun. Make more time for the things you love without feeling torn about chores. Chores can be fun too. I can’t wait to vacuum or weed undesirables. Whoa!
Please do your part to nurture unity rather than divisiveness as we go through transitions in the world. At the same time, nourish your soul, our earth, and each other in the spirit of universal peace.
Plant Vision Board
Mike coaches to “visualize the wows and not the how’s.” Clip what you’d like to create in your life from magazines or online and arrange them into a vision board. Envision your garden blooming in a glory of colors that complement and accent with contrasting textures.
A fun way to create an extraordinary garden is to gather pictures of plants and shuffle them into plant combinations that wow you. Being sure, of course, the plants will thrive in like conditions.
Let go of past mistakes in the garden or inequities in life. Not to say forget about them, but consider they served as lessons, strengthening and bringing you to where you are now. As in nature, everything has its purpose and everything its path.
Just as with the growing seasons, there are seasons in our lives. Things aren’t as they once were, but there can be growth in wisdom and kindness as we age. And a focus on what’s important – Manifesting an abundance of serenity and love.
Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone@gmail.com (and your favorite Podcast App.)
Column updated 12/12/21
