Protect Your Mind from The Weeds of Discontent

Have you ever heard someone make a simple statement and for some reason it resonates with you so loudly that it echoes and reverberates around the shady hiding places in your brain – something that reminds you to protect your mind?

It was a perfectly normal Spring day as Jo and I walked up the Railway Track with our trusty golden retriever, Mjolnir (pronounced Mill-near and was the name of Thor’s hammer). The crisp air made it a pleasant temperature, just cool enough to wear light jackets, and the birds were tweeting their Spring songs in full voice. The magpies especially were sounding out their iconic warbling that is so uniquely Australian.

We left the track and headed down one of our usual trails, a Perth hills crescent with magnificent old properties on large blocks with panoramic views of the city and the escarpment. We cruised back up the final turn, where we spotted a retired-looking couple, chatting playfully as they pulled a few weeds from their huge front garden. We waved and said ‘G’day’ as they responded and smiled in unison.

“It’s looking really colourful”, I remarked, complimenting them on the majestic array of purple, yellow and white flowers set against the stunning blueness of Perth’s cloudless sky.

“You mean my hair?” she joked as she pointed to the highlights on her head.

“No, the flowers”, I began to say, as she added that she was just joking.

That’s when she came out with the comment that really caught my attention…

“One lie-in and the weeds take over!” she exclaimed. “That’s all it takes – just one lie-in.”

We exchanged a few pleasantries, before resuming our ambling walk, but on the inside my mind was racing.

Mother Nature has always been a source of inspiration for me – in fact, she’s brought me some of my greatest ‘Aha moments’ over the years , carried on the gentle whispers of her light breezes.

I turned excitedly to Jo and asked “Did you hear that? There’s a blog post right there.”

Jo’s used to the random workings of my Aquarian mind after all these years and she humoured me as I started spouting about the depth of symbolism in the lady’s innocent remark and why you need to protect your mind.

Nature Can Be a Great Source of Inspiration and Wisdom

Nature reminds us of the most obvious things sometimes. In this case, she was prompting me that our minds are like these beautiful gardens, full of imaginative colour and vivaciousness, yet so easily prone to attacks from the weeds of discontent or confusion.

That which stands between all that we have been and all that we wish to become are those damned weeds. Whilst our spirits are nurtured and refreshed by the power of the Universal forces available to us, we often pause to slumber; we take our eyes off the simple things that matter and that’s when they launch their attack.

This is probably nothing new – I’m sure you’ve heard it many times over; the great motivational speaker, Jim Rohn had a farming background and was always referencing the seasons of nature for his life lessons, but sometimes we just need to  be reminded of the basics…

When you allow your focus to drift away and you stop doing many of the simple and obvious things that have brought you success in the past, that’s when the weeds seize their chance and attack your thoughts; they attack your confidence; they attack your soul.

Jo reminded me of her own equally thought-provoking response to the lady’s remark that day, “Weeds are just plants that are growing in the wrong spot.”

That was a great observation from my beloved. If you think of weeds as the symbol for thoughts, they might be trying to restrain you to protect you. They might be a good idea, but in the wrong place or at the wrong time, and one person’s weed may be another person’s flower?

So How Do You Beat These Wicked Weeds?

You stay present to the threat; you remain vigilant; and you take action. You keep doing the basics.

In business, you keep doing the marketing; you keep making the calls; you keep on ‘wowing’ the prospective  customers until they become repeat customers and then you ‘wow’ them some more.

In life, you keep going for walks; you keep on telling your loved ones how special they are; you keep doing what you can to spread the light and the joy; and you safeguard and protect your mind by feeding it only the good stuff.

So I say “Thank you” to that lady for reminding me of that important lesson and I urge you to read this sentence out loud…

“If it IS to BE, it’s up to ME!”

What Next?

I recommend these reference sources: ’The Seasons of Life’ and/or ‘Five Major Pieces of the Life Puzzle’ by Jim Rohn; and of course there’s ‘If Life’s Worth Doing, It’s Worth Doing Well’ by me, Tony Inman.

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