Monday, May 17, 2010

What If I had No Excuses

What If I had No Excuses?

Then I would be like my artichoke plant.  Fully thriving, in the midst of a newly planted garden.

I wouldn’t just be starting fresh again, because the soil and the weather and the timing was **perfect**

I would be producing, because that is just who and what I am.

There are 30, yes 30, baby artichokes on that one plant.  The little plant that could.

I plant my garden mostly from seed.  It keeps me grounded with the Process.  The artichoke plant was an exception LAST YEAR.  As you have read, my garden was an experiment last year.  That is the attitude I had to take to even get started.  I never had a vegetable garden before, killed my house plants often, and considered myself to have a black thumb instead of green. I hid in the shadow of my brother who has planted organically for years or my Mom’s florescent green beacon of thumbs!  I approached the garden with not caring about the outcome, it was just the process of doing something I have always longed to do.

What I learned the most from that garden last year, (BUT didn’t hit home until recently) was how I can make excuses by my EXPECTATIONS!  It is my expectations, my high hopes, my tendency for all or nothing, black or white, full speed ahead or being stalled that keep me stuck in my excuses.

That is what started to happen with the artichoke plant.  The garden thrived beyond my wildest dreams.  The gardener at work was throwing out the artichoke plant because he didn’t know about artichokes and thought the plant was a flowering plant.  He put it in a bucket for me and I brought it home.  I was feeling pretty cocky and confident because of the abundance going on in the garden.  I re-planted it in the empty corner amongst the flourish of the squash and watermelons.  But it just wouldn’t grow that much.  I thought I killed it.  But I wasn’t too upset.  After all, it was just an experiment.

But it surprised me this year.  It took off on its own.  My excitement and joy to see all the baby artichokes sprouting in the last few weeks has motivated me and once again taught me some big lessons.  Watch out for expectations and beliefs that you have.  Yes! They become excuses before you know it and you give up before you can see what just might happen if you let go of the outcome……

I have to thank three very special bloggers for sharing their wisdom and reinforcing the importance of blogsphere.  MizFit with her no excuses challenge, Fitarella with her What If challenge and JackSht for his original $100 giveaway.  They have all fit very, very nicely into my healthy attitude journey!  It’s time to make the plan, accept the answers within, AND stop using old expectations to feed my excuses.

One last note of gratitude to Leanne who became my 100th follower.  A goal for the new year was to have 100 followers by the end of the year.  Once again, when I let go of the expectation and just kept writing for me, it happened!