I have come to realize that I can not improve things in my life by just cutting out the bad, I need to increase the intake of good.

This year I decided to keep the weeds in our yard at bay. I figured it needed one major  swoop of removal and after that I surely could keep on top of it with minimal, regular weeding.

Last year I was gone for most of the spring, so when I got back our yard was so out of control. I simply gave up, and allowed nature to have its way. – I would just cut things back in the fall in preparation for next summer season.

Well, after my first purging I did not manage to keep at it fast enough. After omitting my yard work for a few weeks the garden got worse than ever. -Especially as I had decided to add rich soil to it without any seeds or plants yet ready to plant. Big mistake!

The experience with the yard can be used as an analogy of life in general. As an example, my destructive habits have to be replaced by something good. If a void is created my good intentions will not be strong enough. The expression “crowding out” is a useful one ( I learned this while studying nutrition with the Institute of Integrated Nutrition). I know this is also true in my garden. By adding the good of mulch and plants the weeds will not thrive.

So now, when I feel a lack, or pain, of some sort – I don’t look for the bad to exclude, but for the good I am ignoring to INCLUDE in my life. When I fill up with good, the bad tends to fall away.

 If I feel deprived, my thinking and doing needs correcting. I do not forbid things. Instead  I CHOOSE to include the good so that the destructive loses its appeal.