Meg Evans

Somewhere deep inside our minds there’s a door to a place we don’t want to see, overflowing with heaps of scary old emotional baggage that we haven’t managed to clear away. We wish we could forget all about it, and most of the time we do; but when a present-day experience triggers those bad memories, the door swings wide open, no matter how many bars and screens we might believe we’ve put across it.
 

What’s to be done about that door? More bars won’t solve the problem. Plant some nice pretty mental landscaping in front of it and make it less noticeable? Well, that might help a little; but really, it needs the same treatment as a real-life cluttered room full of ugly, rusty junk. Rather than trying to leave the door closed forever, we just need to roll up our sleeves and march confidently in there with a box of garbage bags, a bucket of hot soapy water, and a mop.

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

I posted a photo of daylily plants under my gas meter for a Nurturing Thursday entry in April and mentioned in the comments that I would take another picture when they were in bloom. They’re looking good today, and it’s bright and sunny after almost an entire day of rain yesterday, which has made the grass look nice and green too! Here’s the new photo:
 

Because the plants are thick and healthy, they haven’t needed much weeding this year. That’s also what happens with our own lives when we root out all those prickly mental weeds of negativity, fear, and bad habits—we’re healthier and have more energy for blooming, and there is no space for weeds to grow back!

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

My husband has a very good sense of how mechanical things fit together. That is not one of my strong points, though; and he often tells me “Don’t force it.” We have a spigot on the east side of the house that got stripped because I turned the knob too far a few years ago, and now it has to be turned off very carefully. We haven’t replaced it because the pipe is in a place that is hard to access from inside the house. So, when I hook up a lawn sprinkler to it, I generally leave putting away the hose and sprinkler to my husband.
 

Not forcing things is useful advice in many other contexts, too. I’ve always had what I would consider a good amount of persistence. When I commit to a task, chances are I’ll get it done. When it comes to patience, though, I have to admit there’s room for improvement. I recently had a conversation on another blog about how we try to cram everything we want into the now, rather than letting things take their natural course, which leads to constant feelings of pressure that actually make it harder to get what we want. We’d all do much better not to force it!

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

Changeable weather in late spring means we often go from chilly nights, when we have the heat on, to hot afternoons when we run the air conditioner. So when we get a day with pleasant temperatures, it feels especially good to open the windows, let in the fresh air, look up at the little puffy clouds high in the sky, and hear the birds singing!
 

Sometimes everyday life feels like that, too. Maybe we’re under pressure to get things done and feel that “the heat is on,” or when there’s not much going on, it feels as dull as spending a hot afternoon indoors with all the windows shut and the air conditioner running. Opening the mind’s windows regularly to let in some fresh thoughts does us a lot of good, whether we have been feeling stifled by busy days or just by too many mindless activities.

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

Last summer I bought a small garden fountain to put on my front porch, which faces north-northwest and is always in the shade. The porch had seemed so dark and still with nothing but the doormat to brighten it up! The fountain definitely adds cheerful energy; and for those interested in feng shui, that spot is the house’s north compass point where a fountain traditionally would be placed. All good!
 

The garden where I planted the alyssum shown in last Thursday’s entry is on the other side of the stone pillar shown in this photo. I also have snapdragons planted there, along with astilbe in a shady corner, and two varieties of hostas. It always lifts my mood to look out the window and see the flowers all summer long! Of course, in the winter there’s nothing but bare ground, and the fountain has to be brought indoors and put away until spring; but for now, there’s plenty of time left to enjoy both the fountain and the garden!

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

I plant sweet alyssum in my garden every May, and it always makes me feel peaceful and happy. The blossoms smell lovely—and they’re edible too, as alyssum is related to broccoli. It is native to Mediterranean countries, where it sometimes is used in salads. Alyssum means “without madness,” which comes from the ancient Greeks’ use of the plant as herbal medicine to calm angry feelings and promote emotional balance. They also believed it could prevent rabies. 

In warmer climates alyssum grows year-round, but where I live it gets too cold for that! Having to replant it every spring is okay, though, because working in the garden helps with feeling more centered and (literally) grounded. So, alyssum is good for self-nurturing whether it is eaten or whether it is planted just for its pretty blossoms and pleasant fragrance. Either way, it’s part of a peaceful and calming flower garden!

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

Recently I’ve been considering how many things in life help to keep us safe as we go through our days. No matter how many we can list, though, it can be hard to let go of worries (most of which have nothing to do with actual present-day events) and to feel safe. So I decided to post a photo of the handrail on the stairway leading up to my second floor to illustrate that there is always something to hold on to, and that’s where the focus needs to be.
 

Of course, sometimes we miss our grip. Last summer I slipped at the top of the stairs while carrying laundry and bruised my back. But bruises heal, lost or broken property can be replaced, and plans that don’t work out provide useful lessons going forward. What’s important to remember is that we never really have to go through life without help and totally vulnerable to random stuff, even though our worries may trick us into feeling like that sometimes.

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

Deciding what annual flowers to plant is always fun in early spring, before the warm weather arrives. Last month, I had in mind that I was going to plant lantana next to my mailbox. But I looked at two stores, couldn’t find any lantana, and was getting a bit frustrated. Then I ended up buying mandevilla instead—just happened to notice it at the supermarket when I was doing my grocery shopping.
 

It is a climbing plant, and I expect it will look gorgeous toward the end of the summer when it’s all over the mailbox post. I’ll also look upon it as a reminder to “climb” beyond my original expectations and always keep my mind open to finding beautiful things everywhere!

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

I’ve had the phrase “let go of the outcome” in my head a lot this past week, when telling myself that uncertain situations would turn out for the best regardless of what might happen at a particular time. In keeping with that thought, and with the “consider the lilies” story that I posted yesterday, I decided to illustrate today’s entry with a photo of the daylilies next to my garage.
 

I planted them under the gas meter about 10 years ago, and they’ve been growing robustly ever since. One year the gas company dug them up to put in a new meter, and that left me concerned that they might not recover properly. But they came back the next year as healthy as ever; so, just as with anything else, I shouldn’t have wasted my time and mental energy uselessly worrying about possible outcomes!

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.