The Beauty of Letting Go!

One of my favorite things about gardening is time alone with my thoughts. Immersed in nature with no electronic distractions is where I often come up with ideas for my blog; and this morning was no exception.

Today's musings: What if we tended our own lives a bit more like our gardens?

This year, I have decided to let some things go in my garden, and its beautiful ...and also slightly terrifying. Every day I watch my HUGE kale and asparagus plants grow and take over space, as they are producing seed for next year's garden. Radishes and spinach are bursting with woody growth and not-so-eye-appealing seed heads.

That controlling little voice in my head keeps telling me to cut them back!

As gardeners, we control the environment of our plants. We tend to them with care and precision. We pinch dead blooms, harvest our fruits and veggies at just the right time and keep the weeds at bay.

But once in a while, life happens outside of the garden and things get a little out of control. When plants grow too much and go to seed, they tend to get large and unruly; and in general, things just look messy!

But appearances can be deceiving. Take a moment to stop and really think about what is happening when we let plants go: it is often when they are most productive.

When plants get to a point that we may consider them to be out of control, they are really just doing what God intended in His natural design.

THAT is where the magic happens! They grow, yield seed and multiply unhindered.

Seeing this magic in my garden got me to thinking; what happens to us when WE let things go?

We hear the phrase all the time when we have worries, challenges or fears – “just let it go”!

But let’s face it, letting go is HARD!

When we tend our lives like we tend a perfect garden, we keep things in order, do life on our time schedule and in our own way, and we are proactive about making things just how we want them to be. Appearances rather than productivity, are everything in a perfect garden and in a "perfect" life.

When “unruly plants” creep in, say in the form of negative thoughts, tough situations or difficult people; letting it go often feels passive and unintentional. Rather, we intentionally avoid situations, cut people off and kill relationships just like we would a pesky weed.