The Weeds Outside My Garden

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The past few weeks, I have been really bothered by the weeds growing around my garden boxes and outside the border of my in-ground garden. They aren't really posing a threat {besides flying seeds} because they aren't actually inside my garden. But they have been bugging me. Bugging me enough that I have gone and weeded some of them away to the point of exhausting myself {easily done these days}. But I'm still bothered! I'm bothered that it doesn't look perfect. That I don't have wood chips down like I wanted too. Bothered that there are still so many of them. And then I realized today that I may be overreacting to this whole situation just a little bit.

Why do they bug me so much when they aren't actually inside of my garden?

Because they make it look messy? Because they show that I'm not perfect? Because they make me feel like I'm not a good gardener? Because they are a pest that I want eradicated?

As I thought about why these weeds outside of my garden bothered me and told myself that it was probably something I'd just have to let go this summer and tackle some other time, I realized that there is a life lesson here too.

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The plants don't care about the weeds outside of the garden. They are growing wonderfully because there are very few weeds around them competing for the actual necessitates they require to grow and thrive.

I realized that I have been so bothered by the silly weeds outside of my garden, I haven't been focusing on how great it is growing. And I actually didn't even see that one of my potato plants was under attack by an actual pest. Something I would have caught if I hadn't been so preoccupied looking where it didn't matter.

And so it is with life, I think. At least for me.

I can get so preoccupied worrying and being bothered about things outside of what is truly important to me, it can take away from what matters most. Sometimes, things just have to wait. And things aren't perfect. And they look messy. And it might hurt my pride a little bit. But if I take the time to focus on what I'm nurturing and caring for that is truly important to me - my family, my animals, my spirituality, real friendships - I will be much better off. I can keep those things front and center and make sure they are well cared for. In a spare moment, sure, I can go weed a little outside my garden. And I may even have time to lay down some beautiful wood chips and keep the weeds out more permanently.

I think, in life, there will always be "weeds" around me trying to bother me or take my attention away from the real garden. The key is to focus on the beauty that is growing and thriving where I planted it and cared for it first, and worry about what's outside second.

This is why I love where I live and that I can do things like garden and keep animals. It's good for my soul and allows me to learn in a way I can truly understand.

So there you go, life lessons from my garden. Ha! 🙂