As I tug at the weeds that so quickly spring up in our garden, I realize how the simplest things can teach the most pertinent lessons. Weeds, for example.
Weeds arrive with no effort from the gardener. In fact, we would prefer that they didnt bother. But, they do. And, they do so very persistently. Have you ever noticed that bad habits do much the same thing?
Unintentionally, we add something to our daily behavior that does the rest of our lives no good. Weeds do the same in the garden by popping up quickly and stealing water and nourishment from the vegetable plants.
Just as in the garden, it is best and easiest to remove the weeds while they are small and undeveloped. They come out easily and leave no damage behind. Later, they will gain size and root structure making them much harder to dislodge.
Also, if we wait, the squash plants or some other vegetable may start to grow around the weeds. Thus, it becomes very hard to remove the weed without damaging the plant we want.
In life, if we continue to hang around places that influence us in a negative way, it may become harder to distance ourselves. We become attached to the people or the environment. As a result, we have a harder time ridding ourselves of the bad habit.
Removing large weeds may reveal smaller ones underneath just as removing serious issues in our lives may make less significant ones plain.
If the weeds are overgrown or numerous, we may need help to get them out in time to save the vegetables. So too in life, sometimes we must seek help to set things right.
Dont try to remove weeds by the handful or to change a number of habits all at once. Concentrate on one at a time. The results will be far more permanent just as pulling one weed at a time gets the root out too.
Of course, preventing weeds is usually easier than trying to remove them. For example, we use a water permeable cloth in our garden to prevent weeds from getting started. In life its much the same. Dont frequent the ice cream shop if you are trying to shed pounds.
Be vigilant. How often has a gardener gotten the garden into perfect shape only to find the weeds appearing again? Bad habits can do exactly the same thing. When we think we have vanquished them, they crop up again.
Just as we must remove bad habits from our own lives, as parents, we need to help our children stop undesirable behavior. Like weeds improper behavior is best dealt with as early as possible. Letting it become entrenched will only make it harder on both the parent and the child when the time for correction arrives.
As gardeners, we are willing to deal with weeds so that we can enjoy a bountiful harvest. Life is no different. Ridding ourselves of bad habits and behaviors allows us to have more fruitful lives and to help others along the way.
Just ask our bees. Because we have removed the weeds, our squash plants grow better. In turn, our honeybees benefit from the numerous flowers. Consequently, we get great squash and tasty honey.
When I keep the benefits in mind, pulling the weeds and shedding bad habits feels considerably more tolerable.
