Pouring cement on the garden

Day 33 of 90 day challenge

Source: Brian Johnson’s Philosophers Note on The Places that scare you ~ Pema Chödrön

“This is the path we take in cultivating joy: learning not to armor our basic goodness, learning to appreciate what we have. Most of the time we don’t do this. Rather than appreciate where we are, we continually struggle to nurture our dissatisfaction. It’s like trying to get flowers to grow by pouring cement on the garden.”

Are you feeling sadness, anger, frustration, depression because things aren’t going your way? Are you so focused on all the things that are wrong in your life, that you’re not taking the time to focus on all the things that are right?

Being grateful, or appreciating all the good things in our life is such an important practice. It’s as though each grateful thought plants a seed to create the most beautiful garden, rather than blaming, criticising and complaining about our lives and pouring cement which prevents our flowers from blossoming.

If a relationship has ended, could you feel appreciation for the friends that are still in your life? The friends who are always at the end of the phone line, when you need someone to talk to. The friends who will give you a hug when you need one. The friends who will look after your children for a while to give you a break. The friends who always lift your spirits, who make you laugh and smile.

If a loved one has died, could you appreciate all the happy times that you remember with that person? Could you appreciate that they are no longer in pain? Could you appreciate all the things you learnt from that relationship?

Within every struggle, there is a gift. We just have to be open to appreciating the good, and opening our eyes to finding the silver lining in our cloud.