Does your life have some old goals you aren’t tending? Bad habits to cut out? Are opportunities waiting at the nodes? Perhaps it’s time to do a little “life gardening.”
Trimming the Plant of Life
How do you keep your plant healthy? You maintain it by clipping brown leaves and making new plants by clipping and transplanting the root nodes.
When done in the right way at the right time, trimming is good for a plant. So, you want to look it over and see where it needs changes. A yellowing or decaying vine or leaf indicates an area that is not supporting the plant. It can pull energy from the plant and impede its growth. Trimming off this part will allow the plant to redirect its resources towards parts that are green and flourishing.
Trimming should be done with care. As I recently learned from my friend, Scott Yeager, it’s best to trim just above a node, rather than in the middle of a stalk. There is a node at the base of every branch and leaf, and these are opportunities for plant expansion. Maybe self discovery. On the other hand, if you want to sprout a new plant you would take the cutting below the node, and if all goes well, a whole new plant will sprout from it.
Imagine your life as a plant
Your activities and goals are like the leaves and vines on a plant. Nodes are the intersections where there are opportunities for new growth. We can invest energy in our life nodes by choosing activities that simultaneously support multiple life arenas. For example, if your goals include learning to knit and meeting new people, attending a knitter’s meetup could feed both of those goals. Learning to knit by yourself at home, on the other hand, would be more like feeding a single branch of your life plant.
Working with nodes accelerates the process of personal growth and creates fertile ground for new opportunities. Maybe you meet someone else with the dream of starting a small business selling knitted goods. You share your excitement, ideas, and what you’ve learned so far. Maybe you even become business partners. The new venture is also a nodal intervention, at the intersection of the desires to learn a craft and start a business.
Where are the nodes in your life? Some writing and drawing will help you see the connections. List important activities in your life, along with your goals for the future. Look for connections, as well as parts that seem more isolated. Draw your life’s plant, marking the nodes and any areas that might be due for pruning. When considering a decision, ask yourself how it fits into your life’s nodal structure, then choose whatever you see as serving your growth the best.
How Are You Growing?
Do you have vines or leaves (activities or bad habits) that pull energy and impede your growth? Are some areas of your life decaying from lack of attention?
When we sprout suddenly in a new direction, like when starting a job or falling in love, it can totally change how our life’s nodes are structured. To invest energy in the new opportunities opening up, pruning other branches is helpful. Understanding your priorities and where they overlap lends clarity to seeing what’s best to release now.
Take a good look at your “inner plant” and get out your clippers.
Here are three questions you might ask yourself.
- Is my life plant serving my calling?
- Am I investing my energy in the nodes?
- Would I be healthier if I trimmed off dying parts of my life?
It makes sense to trim your life’s plant, and invest your energy at the nodes. You’ll be happier, shinier, and feel better as you continue to grow. Be your highest and best possible you in the garden of your personal life!
Looking for a Life Gardener to help?
Pasture of Possibilities by Cat Wilson
Apositiva offers services including Life Coaching and Hypnotherapy.
These are just some of the ways we can assist you in getting your Life Plant back in the light and producing for you.
Call for a free consultation today.