a.k.a. Taking out the Trash
Good scene from the movie I watched tonight with the Ninja buds. The Peaceful Warrior is on our karate reading list, but since two of us are currently injured, putting our right legs up and watching the movie (about a gymnast who perseveres despite a crippling injury thanks to the help of an unlikely Zen master) seemed to be a good idea for the evening.
It was inspiring.
There were so many lessons to take away from this one, but the one that resonated with me on this particular night (in addition to the perseverance theme), was this. Dwelling on the past, worrying about the future - it distracts us from our purpose in the here and now.
And it leads to depression and angst.
As do:
Wishing we could change circumstances or people outside of our sphere of influence
Worrying about other people's impressions of us, or what may or may not have been said of us
Fear of trusting and becoming attached; of being hurt or betrayed
Feelings of inadequacy and uncertainty
All are weeds that come up in the garden from time to time and need to be pulled, preferably while they're small. If they grow for too long, they soak up too many resources and get so big that they're a pain to dig out.
Weeding the garden - or taking the trash out (the metaphor in the movie) - needs to be done continually, not just when the weeds or the trash start to take over.
The more it is done, the easier it is to do. An important reminder for myself.
Striving to identify those weeds when they're small and to pull them quickly. It doesn't stop them from showing up, but I don't need to let them take over my garden.
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