Following our January theme – Tapasya: The Vedic Art of Delayed Gratification – our Vedic theme for this month is: Water the Roses: How to Nurture More of What You Want.
There’s a story that gets told in Vedic circles about the importance of watering the flowers and not the weeds.
A man is in his garden, hosing his prized roses on a warm summer’s day.
He’s enjoying the sight of the flourishing roses when he notices a clump of weeds over in a corner.
Annoyed that they’re spoiling his garden, he walks over to inspect them, taking his hose with him. He stands there complaining, all the while watering them with the hose.
He’s back with his hose a few days later only to see the weeds have grown further.
Again, he bemoans the weeds – all the while watering them unintentionally.
This goes on for some time until he realises the whole garden has overgrown with weeds and his roses have wilted away.
The water in this analogy is our attention – the more we focus on the negative, the more of it we get.
If instead, we pour the water of our attention on the things we love, we will get more of them.
For the month of February, see if you can spend more time thinking about things you want more of.
How? Avoid dwelling on the negative, especially things that are out of your control. And regularly remind yourself of what your like about your life.
Something I’ve dabbled with in the past and will try again in February is a gratitude journal.
The simplest approach is to write down (somewhere, anywhere!) three things you are grateful for – either morning, evening or both.
You can ask yourself a question like: What three things am I grateful for today? And why?
Or if it’s at the end of the day: What was my favourite moment today?
You needn’t write a novel, just a few sentences is enough.
As well as being ancient yogi-approved, studies have also found that feeling and expressing gratitude has a positive effect on the brain because it encourages us to focus on the good things in life. Gratitude can also promote a sense of contentment and fulfilment.
It reminds us of what’s good helps nurture more of the same.
Happy gardening.
Rory