am not a gardener. I don’t have a green thumb, finger or hair on my head. Every plant I’ve owned has died, however, I appreciate the countless metaphors that life in the dirt provides. Perhaps the most powerful: the concept of weeding. 

Weeding is, “to remove as being undesirable, inefficient, or superfluous¹.” Weeds rob plants we want in our gardens of water, light, air and nutrients and limit their ability to grow and thrive.

The garden of your life
How many ‘weeds’ do you have growing? Weeds can present themselves as people, or situations that hinder growth and rob vitality. It could be a chronic complainer at work, an overly-needy sibling or living in an uninspiring neighbourhood. If you feel physically or emotionally fatigued, frustrated or depressed when exposed to your source of negativity, it’s time to put on the gloves and start weeding.

The path of a life-gardener
As an experienced life-gardener, I recommend weeding internally first. Change your reality by shifting your perspective. Change your attitude, reaction and experience by choosing compassion towards another, acceptance of a situation, or awareness of the finite nature of your time in an unpleasant place.