Sometimes I find that mowing the lawn gives me ample time to think and really ponder. There are basically no distractions and I can just pause and ponder life. Today, I had a really profound (at least to me) insight. I am so proud of my backyard right now. I have been working on it for approximately an hour a day and it has really been paying off. Today, I realized that practically no one else would feel that it was anything special or anything to be proud of. You only feel that if you know where it has come from.
When we first moved into our home five years ago, we took good care of the yard. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was well-maintained, mowed, watered, edged, etc.. Then, about three years ago, we started the tedious process of opening our own business. If you have never opened your own business, you have NO idea how much work it is. We thought we knew...nope. It is a 24-hour-a-day process. So, three years ago, it started to get neglected. Then, two years ago, we had a brand-new business and I was pregnant with LD. More neglect (something just had to give). Last year, the business was more stable (still a TON of work), but I also had a newborn (also a TON of work). During all this, DH worked approximately 65 hours a week out of the house. This meant the yard (along with the kids, the house, and my duties for the business) was left to me. Long story...short point: the yard was a mess. It was full of weeds and very neglected.
Now...can you understand how proud I am of the nicely trimmed grass, the freshly weeded vegetable garden, and the new storage bench for all the basketballs?
I realized, though, as I was mowing, that this is very much like people. Sometimes we only look at where they are right now, not knowing how far they've come. If we could just see where they were five years ago or two months ago or whatever, we would probably be so proud of them for how far they've come instead of so judgmental for how far they have to go.
There you have it: Profound Lawn Mowing Thoughts by me.
All Good Things...
5 weeks ago
12 comments:
I feel the same way about mowing the lawn... good time to think.
Great insight for all of us to remember we are in different stages of our own journey.
Good for you, for doing all that work! I always love your thoughts and metaphors! It's all about perspective, isn't it? :)
What a great thought.
I like to mow my lawn and think too- can't wait till my lawn is actually ready to be mowed!
I get this and I love that you like to mow the lawn too - I feared I was the only one. You nailed this post with an awesome perspective!
you are so smart, I'm glad you are my friend !
That is a profound lawn mowing thought. I like it. A LOT.
Very profound and right on the money.
I think manual labor is very good for the brain.
good good thoughts I too think you are awesome
I agree... right on the money.... if only we could see into each other's souls a little bit more.... Feel free to visit again (to my blog), and I'll be back to yours!
I need to start mowing the lawn more. Maybe I would solve some of my problems better. Thanks for the thoughts.
I, too, often have very profound thoughts when tending the yard or garden (though I don't do it enough). Maybe it goes back to Adam and Eve tending the garden of Eden?
I love the point you make. I am often telling my sister how good my house looks, but I realize it won't look as good to anyone else because they haven't seen how bad it was before I started cleaning. They may only see the remaining dirt, but I see vast improvements. I love how you relate this to the way we look at people. Thanks for the new thought.
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