...a season of growth

[Guest guest]

It is a wonderful thought and self analysis. Thank you.

 

arnel

[Guest guest]

A Season of Growth

-by Michael Pollock

 

In New England, you don't need a calendar to know it's the

first week of October. The trees tell the story quite well

as their leaves change from shades of green to the bright

vibrant shades of orange, red and yellow. At the peak of the

fall foliage season, it's truly a magnificent sight that

draws people from all around to behold the beauty. The

season progresses and the leaves fall to the ground one by

one where they become nourishment for the grass, flowers and

gardens in the spring.

 

As I spent Sunday collecting some of the fallen leaves with

my 7 year old daughter, I wondered what would happen if a

tree stubbornly held onto to its leaves - refusing to let

them fall to ground and nourish the new season that awaits

only a few months from now. How would that tree be affected?

How would the rest of life be affected?

 

The tree would become burdened by the accumulation of dead

leaves it collected each year. Its branches would begin to

sag under the weight of those useless dead leaves. Future

growth of the tree would be impossible as it ran out of room

for new leaves to bloom in the spring. It would soon lose

its beauty as the lifeless brown leaves cluttered its many

branches.

 

Eventually the tree wouldn't look like a tree at all but

only a pitiful brown clump waiting to die and fall to the

ground from which it once sprang with such vitality and zest

for life.

 

And what about the grass, flowers and gardens that use the

fallen leaves as nourishment and further growth in the

spring? Certainly there are other sources of sustenance but

none as natural and readily available as is provided by the

fallen leaves. Instead, they would have to rely heavily on

human intervention for their growth and survival - the tree

no longer offering its own natural gift of nourishment. The

entire circle of life would be burdened by the refusal of

the tree give up that which no longer serves it.

 

Sometimes we are like that tree. We refuse to give up

beliefs and memories that no longer serve us. We hang onto

them, preventing our further growth and the growth of

others. We become burdened by the accumulation of useless

dead thoughts that should have fallen away long ago to be

used as intellectual and spiritual nourishment. If we're not

careful, we can become - like the tree - a miserable

creature who's lost our vitality and zest for life,

eventually living in quiet desperation, refusing to be a

natural source of nourishment for the rest of the circle of

life.

 

Spend a few minutes each day this week to think about what

beliefs you're holding onto that may be burdening you -

thoughts that should have fallen away long ago to nourish

yourself and others. Some of them may be very old, dating

back to childhood. For me, one of those useless beliefs came

from the memory of an assault by the town bully when I was 5

years old. Once I finally let go of that belief, it became a

source of further growth for myself and others.

 

Try this exercise. Watch a movie of your life. The movie

starts with your earliest memory and progresses

chronologically through your life up until now. What

memories stand out as painful and what beliefs did you

create from those memories? Maybe you remember your own

bully or perhaps a time when a parent or guardian was

particularly angry toward you.

 

Maybe you tried to accomplish something and failed in your

attempt. Perhaps you still carry the guilt of a wrong you

committed against another. Whatever you come up with, write

your thoughts in a journal. Write everything that happened

in the experience and the useless belief you developed from

it.

 

Then ask yourself how you can use the experience to nourish

yourself and others. What can you learn that empowers you

and others to experience further growth and learning?

 

Shed those old limiting beliefs just like the trees shed

their leaves in the fall and make ready for the new season

of growth that awaits. Send me an email and tell me what

belief you're going to let fall away this week. I'd love to

hear from you. Have a great week!

 

Its your life. Create it the way you desire!

 

-- By Michael Pollock

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello Friends,

 

I must apologize for not posting lately. I have been very busy and

things are just beginning to return to normal. Not that I know what

normal is.

 

I hope that everyone is doing fine and my thoughts are with you. Have a

great day. They're so very precious.

 

Kindest regards

Harold

 

http://gemsofthought.tripod.com/poetry/

 

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