What is it that makes your heart sing ? What ignites the passion inside of you and how would it feel to be experiencing the result of your dreams ?
ACHIEVING YOUR PERSONAL GOALS AND LIFE ’ S DREAMS BY CREATING A THRIVING GARDEN
By Nathan Crane
Spring is in the air here in the southwestern high desert of Santa Fe New Mexico and soon we ’ ll be in the full array of beautiful and fragrant blossoming flowers greeting us each morning as we step outside and begin our day anew . This time of year is always a wonderful opportunity for each of us to revisit the goals we set at the beginning of the year , take the temperature of our level of passion around these goals , and if necessary , modify or strengthen our commitment to achieving our goals for this year and beyond .
During the first few months of the year , while generally shorter , colder , and less desirable , you should have already been preparing your soil , getting your tools ready , and making your plans for how you want your garden to blossom during the summer and fall months to come . Then as we move into spring we should be ready to begin planting seeds for our future harvests . In the analogy of gardening I ’ m referring to your goals and dreams for your life , business , career and relationships as well as your goals and dreams for your physical garden as I believe it ’ s in every person ’ s best interest to have some form of a garden to grow a portion of their own food for health , personal fulfillment , and sustainability .
Gardening and growing food is a powerful experience I believe all of us need to learn how to set , achieve , and experience goals while living life on our own terms . The first step towards success in life and in gardening is tuning into our heart ’ s desire . What is it that makes your heart sing ? What ignites the passion inside of you and how would it feel to be experiencing the result of your dreams ? In gardening , this applies to what types of vegetables , berries , fruits , herbs , flowers , and trees you enjoy the most . How can they be of service to you and your natural environment ? How could your garden be planted so that the southern wind brings fresh scents of lavender and jasmine through your window
in the evening ? Or how joyful would it be to walk out your front door on the way to work and pick fresh berries and sweet fruit to start your day ? This first step in our lives and in our gardens is crucial if we want to live life on our own terms while experiencing life to the fullest .
The next step is proper planning . We must learn about our landscape , our natural environment , our marketplace and how we can contribute in a sustainable and meaningful way assuring ourselves the least amount of mistakes and the easiest route to an abundant harvest . All of life and gardening , when created for sustaining our heart ’ s desires while also supporting our surrounding communities , can result in the unfolding of our inner fulfillment and happiness . We must
plan our garden just as we must plan our dreams . When we start mapping our path to growth using proven and sustainable models of success , we can avoid many pitfalls that others have experienced along the way . A fantastic model of sustainable success in gardening and in life is permaculture . Permaculture teaches us to model the natural systems in nature to create harmony and balance among all living things . This is a model worth researching and learning for every area of life and gardening .
While following proven models of success such as permaculture , you ’ re not always going to get everything right on the first go . It is a given that we will all make mistakes
along the way . The true key to success is not being gifted or talented or born into good fortune ; it ’ s about not giving up or getting down on yourself when you make a mistake . A proven characteristic of highly successful people is that when they make mistakes , they accept the mistake and take responsibility for it , forgive themselves for making the mistake while realizing that they are humans on the path towards continual growth and learning , and finally analyzing what the root cause of the mistake was and eliminating that from their future actions .
What is it that makes your heart sing ? What ignites the passion inside of you and how would it feel to be experiencing the result of your dreams ?
Nathan Crane is an award winning author , inspirational speaker , conscious filmmaker , Founder of The Panacea Community , Producer and Director of The Search for Sustainability docu-series , Core Collaborator at the Higher Ground Institute , and Executive Director of UNIFY FEST . www . NathanCrane . com
This is the surefire way to experience success in every area of life .
After we ’ ve studied proven models of success and planned our garden , then we must begin preparation . We must prepare the soil , clear out any plants or weeds we don ’ t want in our garden , dig swells , build hugelkultur beds , get our tools ready and our seeds organized , fill out applications , make phone calls , and start taking steps towards our goals .
This is the point we must be most mindful of . At the intersection of preparation and action is when most people give up . A common cause of failure is not in lack of desire or dreaming , but rather it ’ s in overwhelming outside influence knocking us off our paths . When we allow the negativity of the outside world to envelop our thinking and alter our plans , we automatically set ourselves up for failure . One example of this is when we continually watch the news and allow the negativity being spewed across these fear-driven channels to enter our minds and alter our dreams . Another form is when we share our dreams with a friend or loved one and they reply in a negative way saying , “ you can ’ t do that ”, or “ why waste your time on a garden when you can just buy vegetables from the store .”
It is at this time we must rely on our positive habits to stop these negative onslaughts of vicious fear-driven attacks dead in their tracks .
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