New Beginnings

Minute Movement Philosophies, Motivation

Last week I asked what you like most about spring. The thing that I enjoy the most about spring is watching the plants and flowers emerge. I can’t get a decent lawn to grow in my yard so I’ve resorted to lots of flower and vegetable beds instead. Sometimes I forget what I’ve planted in various places so every spring I walk around my yard giddy with the  excitement of greeting long lost friends.   I think what I really like best about spring is that it’s a time of new beginnings and possibility. Somehow in the spring I feel like there’s still plenty of time to get everything done that I want to do this year, that I can accomplish anything. No more dark dreary winter days cooped up in the office, now I can exercise more, experience the sun on my skin, and play in the dirt!

White peonies are one of my favorite flowers and I received several plants from my grandmother’s garden shortly before she passed away. Last spring the plants came up and they were beautiful and full – but there wasn’t one single flower on those bushes. Now, I know from experience that it can take a couple of years for a plant to bloom after they’ve been planted so I wasn’t terribly concerned. But this year, as I watch the little shoots pushing out of the dirt again I became curious WHY the flowers take so long to grace my garden. Flowers require a large amount of energy from a plant and new plants will often conserve that energy in order to develop a strong root system during the first year or so of growth.

But it’s not just in my garden that I find myself a little impatient for the beauty of obvious growth. I anxiously tap my foot looking for the flowers, the results, all too often and in all areas of my life.

I know that I’m doing the work. There are green leaves everywhere. But I have to wait for the beautiful blossoms of success. And waiting can seem unbearable sometimes.

I start wondering. Did I plant a dud (is this the wrong diet)? Is my ground fertile enough (do I need more supplements)? Is there enough sun – or shade (should I exercise more or do I need more sleep)? Did I forget to water my plant enough (how many glasses did I drink today)? Those questions are important  because sometimes the conditions aren’t optimal for growth. Maybe you need to tweak your diet a little bit, maybe you need to get more sleep, or drink some water, maybe you need to stop eating after the kids go to bed. Maybe you need to push yourself a little more when you do a Minute Movement. Whatever it is, if  there is something that you know you need then choose to take action now. You don’t have to wait until January to make adjustments to your life.

What if you really are doing everything right?

Then that’s when you have to be careful not to lose heart. Don’t dig up your plant and throw it in the compost heap. It’s those times while the plant (or the program) is working – while we are working – to create something beautiful that we have to have patience and faith that the changes will come and that they will be amazing.

Make your minutes matter!