Lessons from the Flowerbed [Part 2]

  At the beginning of my summer vacation in May, I made a promise to my mother: On June 1st, you will see me in the front flower bed. She laughed, but she knew I was going to keep to my word.

  On June 1st, I stared down the flower bed of mostly irises and a few other flowers that were equally littered with wild garlic, bindweed, and other general weeds my mother wanted out. I would have also enjoyed taking the irises out, but she insisted that I keep them in the bed and as intact as I could. I worked for hours in the late spring sun, ruffling dirt and sending weeds to their doom! I could tell the flowerbed needed the work; the soil was full of dirt and mulch -not to mention some trash, worms, and other wonderful insects- that needed to be turned and decluttered of the weeds. Sometimes I needed a pitchfork or a handheld shovel to get the weeds; I was that determined to get what I could.

  For the next three days, I worked on small sections of the bed and balanced the work with breaks. I saved a small amount of the wild garlic to dry (and attempt to make garlic powder with). At the end of it all, the flowerbed- and my mother- are much happier. 

~

  Now, why did I bother writing all that down? Well, as I went through this commitment, I realized how many pieces of it related to taking care of mental health. As general as these insights may appear, I feel it is always nice to hear a new voice chime into something as important as this.

  To continue my observations:

The irises were embedded into the flowerbed.

  Even with all of the soil-shaking, there will be some things that stay embedded. Things you have absolutely no control over or that were forced into your childhood are harder to deal with. This might mean you have to work a little harder to get them out. Or perhaps- 

My mother wanted to keep the irises in the flowerbed. 

  -those same traits are what define you more than anything. Those kinds of things are vital to some identities in certain circumstances. Some things can stay unless you feel compelled to remove them.

Some weeds were embedded in the irises. 

  Sometimes the things we like about ourselves hide some nasty undertones. We must be careful to notice these undertones and carefully remove them so are nicer traits can stay untainted. This is a process that is vital to keep the nasty undertones -aka "weeds"- from coming back later.

Some things I pulled out were useful.

  Some of the trauma or pain we pull out of our mentalities can be useful. We can use them as topics for deeper conversation or for art once we feel ready. By doing this, we could inspire other to take care of themselves!

~

 With all of this in mind, I hope you have taken something valuable from my writing. Even if you haven't, thank you for reading. 

  Have a wonderful day, and remember to work on your flowerbed!

Bonus Image! Some of the wild garlic that I saved and dried.