HEALTH & WELLNESS: WHY SAVING YOURSELF MEANS SAVING THE WORLD
WORDS & IMAGE: KIMORA BROCK
I heard a really cool analogy the other day that I vibed with. Everyone wants to live in a very nice neighborhood - green lawns, pretty houses, pleasant neighbors - but if everyone cleaned up their own yard, we'd all have nice neighborhoods.
In other words, it would be much easier to have a peaceful society if everyone worked on their own issues instead of always trying to fix those of other people. So how do you clean up your own metaphorical yard?
Follow the steps below to begin this healing process.
(1) Analyze your yard. What needs to be done? Do you have weeds? Dry patches of grass? Wilted flowers? (Read: do you have anger problems? fear criticism? lack confidence?)
(2) Begin to water the flowers as it were, by addressing the underlying reasons for these issues. Maybe try meditation, getting outside, eliminating processed foods, or picking up a book to help you heal your inner child!
(3) Dig up the foundation to plant new seeds of growth. Although it might feel like digging is destructive, in actuality you are preparing for a much stronger base for fresh experiences to take root.
(4) Plant the seeds. What do you want for the future? To be more peaceful? To be more loving? To be successful?
(5) Water these seeds. In the same way that seeds need sunlight, good climate/nutritious soil, and water to grow, so too do hopes need external sources of support. Make sure that you have at least three simple actions you can do to nurture your ideas.
(6) Be patient- plants don’t grow overnight, and neither do you!
(7) Harvest! Before you know it, you will have formed the foundation for positive habits and cultivated the conditions for a beautiful yard.
As a final note, cleaning your yard should not be done to compete with others. Rather, embrace this process because you love yourself enough to give yourself the pleasure of having a beautiful environment to live in.
And yes, there are people who will deliberately throw trash into your yard or let their dog poop in your yard. I personally believe that it is up to you to be the bigger person and clean up what’s in your metaphorical yard. It's not good to blow your leaves into other peoples yard. (i.e. taking your anger out on someone else) as you are only creating a negative space for everyone.
Focus instead on cleaning up your own energy.
Sound difficult? It is.
Is it worth it? Heck yes.
Because karma is real and doesn’t stop. Because no matter what happens, when you clean up your yard, you will have a beautiful yard. And because our actions are a reflection of who we are as people.
And if you want to be even more of a spiritual gangster, use the poop for fertilizer to grow beautiful flowers! (Read: use the negative experience and motivation to be even better than before. Also, compost!)
Sending lots of love and light your way,
Kimora