"Cultivate an attitude of happiness. Cultivate a spirit of optimism. Walk with faith, rejoicing in the beauties of nature, in the goodness of those you love, in the testimony which you carry in your heart concerning things divine."
- Gordon B. Hinckley
Point To Ponder: What are you cultivating
We are inherently cultivators--we put our hands to different things, giving our mental energy to those efforts and we spend time hoping that things will come forth to fruition in due time. We never have to wonder whether we are capable of cultivating; we are made to do so. Rather, the question is: what are we cultivating and is that what we want our legacy to be about?
It is strange how we spend our time doing one thing but hope our life is full of something else. We want the blessing without giving the intentionality and disciplined required to have the blessing. We water seeds of discouragement and wonder why we aren't chasing our dreams. We try to fit every kind of flower and vegetable into our garden, desiring "all the things" and then wonder why our soil can't support the growth. This attempt to have everything makes is impossible for anything to thrive because every plant begins to steal nutrients from one another in order to survive. Frustrated and defeated, we learn the hard way that we were never meant to do everything. We were designed to pursue certain things and do them well, giving adequate care and time to each one.
What are you growing in your garden of life right now? Whatever it is does not have to remain, but removing the roots is hard work. Replacing weeds will require some digging, dirty hands, and diligent care, but it's the only way we can make room for things that give us life.
Cultivating joy is usually preceded by obedience. Cultivating peace is often attained by planting seeds of solitude. Cultivating courage to pursue our dreams usually looks like plowing the field and still showing up even when the harvest feels distant. And the beautiful flowers, fruits, and plants that are thriving? Celebrate your hard work, cultivate and nourish what's import and have faith in the cultivation process.
Focus- How One Word a Week Will Transform Your Life
Cleere Cherry Reaves
God does not make mistakes. You, me, we were chosen to live in this exact moment for a distinct purpose, and we are all cultivating something. The question is, what are you cultivating? Each of us have a role and play a significant part in cultivating courage, strength, beauty, love, joy and gratitude throughout. While I'm great at overthinking and complicating things, this doesn't have to be complicated. It starts with our thoughts, our words, in our homes and in our community.
Love, Neissa
Action Item:
1. Determine the weeds you need to pull (people, places, things, attitudes) and pull them. Write them down and release them.
2. Decide what seeds you need to plant (attitudes, new habits, friendships) and plant them. Write them down where you can see daily.
3. Nourish and cultivate the new growth. Write down the actions you will take that allows this new growth to occur.