I recently realized that I was buying fresh herbs from the grocery store every week. I love adding fresh basil, rosemary and parsley to my meals and I think it's wonderful to be able to add fresh mint to lemon water. When I looked at several months' worth of my grocery receipts, it occurred to me that if I grew my own herbs, that I could save a lot of money. Then I remembered that I live in the northeast and winter seems to last forever (especially this year) which is not conducive to cultivating a year-round herb garden!
What a coincidence it was when I turned on the television and my favorite tv shopping channel was featuring a countertop herb grower! When I first set the thing up, I was skeptical about my green thumb potential because there is absolutely no soil involved in the growing process. The herbs come in pods and are grown completely in water...lots of water, with nutrients added weekly. In addition to a full spectrum lighting system, the countertop growing process is supported by a reservoir of water that, at various times throughout the day, you can hear "swishing" through and around the roots of the herbs. In a matter of weeks I had a fantastic supply of basil, mint, thyme and dill. The best part? NO WEEDING NECESSARY! There is practically no work involved in this process...just filling it up with water every few days.
Watching (and watering) my new herb garden has been a great reminder that we only water the things that we want to grow. When I plant my outdoor garden in a few months, I will not intentionally be using the garden hose to water the weeds. The last thing I want is for the weeds to grow! If only there was an easier way to water just our flowers, vegetables and herbs and somehow avoid the crabgrass and dandelions! It is a fairly obvious rule - what you feed grows, what you starve will die. The same rule should apply to our own personal growth - we should water and fertilize only those things we want to grow.
Are you paying too much attention to things that do not matter? Then you are watering the weeds.
When someone criticizes you, do you perseverate on what he or she said and allow it to bring you down? That's like throwing Miracle-Gro on the weeds!
A few months ago I watched a video of Venus Williams giving an inspirational lecture on the "Secrets to Success". She talked about "Debbie" and how mean she is! She said that Debbie tells her all the time how unattractive she is, how little she has accomplished and how big her love handles are! Venus said that Debbie makes her feel really bad about herself and she realizes that she pays way too much attention listening to Debbie. She admitted that "Debbie" is the name she has given to her 'inner voice' and that she has spent her entire life desperately trying to silence Debbie. Wouldn't you agree that Venus listening to and believing Debbie is just as bad as watering the weeds?
Venus said that her sister Serena was instrumental in helping her defeat Debbie. Serena made Venus go see a Health Coach so she could get help overcoming her addiction to sugar. She told her sister that if she didn't get a handle on her health, that she would not have the strength to beat back her negative inner voice. Serena told Venus to "stop double faulting" (tennis analogy) and visualize where she wanted to go and whom she wanted to be.
Venus said that at that time she made the life-changing decision to become an 11. What is an 11? She said that "since 11 is better than 10," it meant she was going to "give her best every single time and become the very best version of herself that she could possibly be."
Venus Williams is currently the 8th ranked women's tennis player in the world. She has battled against and defeated Debbie just like the many opponents she has defeated on the tennis courts around the globe.
Is there an inner Debbie inside of you? It is time to stop giving your Debbie water and nourishment. Instead of watering your weeds, put all of your energy and resources into watering that which you would like to have grow strong and tall...just like my fabulous flourishing herb garden!