Food for thought - the grass is green where you water it
Dear clients,
Today's thought is about where you water the proverbial grass in your life. Where do you invest the majority of your time, resources, and energy? Who or what is most important to you and how do you go about prioritizing your day to ensure that you have enough time to spend with the people or things most important to you?
These are all excellent questions for personal growth and I urge you to consider your answers carefully. We all understand time management to some degree (some of us are perhaps a bit more mindful of this than others), however, we sometimes forget about the aspects related to our resources and energy. Resources can be financial, yet this question focuses a bit more on the emotional and spiritual side of things. What do you use or implement to ensure that the people and things closest to you are taken care of? How important would you rate prayer and quality time?
Perhaps one of the most critical components of watering the grass is energy management. Energy in the sense of what you do to show people that they are valuable and cherished or the energy you use to engage with the important things. Taking this one step further, how much energy do you use to think about it? Although we like to think that life happens around us, the truth is that much of life is processed within. In other words, we internalize the things that happen in our lives by constantly thinking about them and allowing them to affect how we feel and react. We dwell on things that may or may not be healthy for us and in the process, we sometimes forget about the things that are important to us.
When asked who or what is most important, many will immediately say faith and family. Yet, their thoughts are almost always directed at other things such as the past, a recent failure, or even things they wish they had. It may be hard to hear, but the things you dwell on, are the things that are important to you - whether it be good or bad. What you dwell on eventually becomes the grass you water and you need to be careful about the thoughts you allow into your mind and heart. If you are constantly dwelling on negativity, your outlook on life will become negative and you will eventually only see the world through this lens.
Fortunately the opposite is also true. If you dwell on positive things and direct your mind to things from Above, your life will begin to feel more positive. Yes, your circumstances may not immediately change, however the way you feel will. Your coping skills will increase, your general well-being will improve and your sense of peace will be greater than before.
These principles apply on a spiritual level as well. Scripture tells us in Colossians 3:2 to set our minds on things from above and not on the world meaning that we need to think about godly things and the Word of God and dwell on those. When we fill our minds with the Word, we begin to view the world through the eyes of faith and become more conscious of the power of the Almighty and His presence in our lives.
The grass is green where we water it - so water wisely.
Be blessed,
Madeleine (Specialist Wellness Counselor & Chaplain)