Spring

Last Saturday we had the Vernal Equinox, which means for those in the Northern Hemisphere it is Spring, and for those in the Southern Hemisphere it means Autumn.

However, as one who lives in the North, the theme of to-day's post will be that of one who is living in the season of Spring.

Springtime here means blossoming of flowers, green returning to the grass and trees, and unless you're an allergy sufferer, it is a beautiful time.

Spring is also a good metaphor for Human Growth as well. As a gardener cultivates his garden, so too should we cultivate our own inner gardens. Seeds were planted and now beginning to show signs of growth. One does not plant the seed and go back two days later and dig it up to see if it has taken root. So it's been with goal setting for me. I've written out 8 major goals I would like to accomplish within a timeframe of 1 to 5 years. I've written them out, and I need to do constant, steady work to accomplish them. Will they happen overnite? No, but I need to be ready for the time when the opportunity comes for me to get to where I want to go.

Gardens also grow people as well. Now, if you plant a bed of vegetables, what will also grow without any effort on your part? WEEDS! So one must constantly tend the garden, pulling up weeds. So too with MIND weeds. You must recognize when they come and pull them up from the root before your garden is overrun. So in one's Garden of the Mind, one needs to nourish it.

That means for me NO Broadcast television, not even the news. If something really important happens, someone will tell me about it and I'll go to Google News or another news aggregator and learn more. As you don't exist on a physical diet of candy and sweets, so too must you stay away from excessive consumption of mind candy. Do I say cut it out? No, you can read a lightweight "beach novel" or watch an occasional episode of so-called "reality" T-V, just don't make it ALL you read and watch. Read books and magazines and blogs that STIMULATE and CHALLENGE you. Watch inspiring documentaries and seminars by the great people, people you want to emulate.

And don't forget that other aspect of nourishment, that of an active spiritual life. Again, watch your diet. Don't listen to a steady diet of spicy hellfire and damnation if you don't obey god and toe the line, and also don't go to the other extreme where you find cotton-candy theology of just think good positive thoughts and god will make you rich! No and No! Have a spiritual life that has some rigor to it, that challenges you. And don't blindly follow the minister, priest or teacher. Study for yourself! Ask questions and make up your OWN mind.

Be An Extraordinary Life!

TJS