Mother Nature’s Wisdom: Abundance

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Whenever I’m feeling down or panicky about my situation–especially if I feel that there are few options–I remind myself to observe Mother Nature.  Years ago I realized that Mother Nature is all about abundance not only in the amount of things but also in the variety of them.

If you’re feeling lack and limitation in your life, remind yourself that Mother Nature doesn’t have only one flower that blooms at only one time of the year or only one flower in one place in the world:  there are flowers blooming everywhere you look, even in the harshest conditions–scientist have discovered blooms of algae underneath the ice in Antarctica!

And flowers aren’t in only one particular size or shape or variety, they’re all sizes, all shapes, all colors, multi-colors, even.  And they don’t only bloom during the day, there are varieties that bloom at dusk as well as in the night!

If you feel that your situation is hopeless and there’s no way you can possibly work your way out of it, remember that Mother Nature has creatures in every conceivable nook and cranny of the Earth–no place is too hot or too cold or too bright or too dark or too much or too little of anything.  There are creatures thriving in the harshest deserts and the deepest oceans.  And it isn’t just one creature in these inhospitable places but these areas are teeming with a variety of life!

Remember YOU are part of Mother Nature.  The same amino acids–the building blocks of life–that form all Mother Nature’s life forms, have also come together to form you! If Mother Nature has abundance for her creatures, then she also has abundance for you!  She may not drop it in your lap, though.  Animals have to forage for food, birds have to build nests, and you’ll have to roll up your sleeves and get to work, but the raw materials are there for you.

You can do it!

Your Friend and Pep Pal,

Lauren

Mother Nature’s Wisdom: Seed Time versus Harvest Time

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We all know that there are cycles or phases of nature: when seeds are planted; when they are growing into grain, vegetables, fruits, and the like; then harvesting at the peak of ripeness; and the final cycle or phase is storing for the future and resting.

We can take a lesson from this. Sometimes we get mixed up about the phase we’re in. We have a fantastic idea–seed time–and we work a little bit–we plant the seed of the idea by working with it. But then we get impatient and think we ought to jump right to the harvest and reap big juicy rewards…and we’re surprised when that doesn’t happen.

Or we may have great ideas but then we go right to the resting phase, somehow thinking the ideas will magically manifest themselves.

It doesn’t work like this.

Each phase of bringing our dreams into reality is important and can’t be skipped or rushed through. Like the planting cycles, each phase is essential. If a farmer skips the seed phase, there won’t be a crop to harvest no matter how diligent and careful the farmer was during the growing phase.

Same with our ideas. If we don’t think them through until we have something fresh and new to present to the marketplace, they’ll be the same old ideas that have been done before and they’ll fall flat.

If the farmer rushes through the growing phase, there won’t be a mature, ripe crop to harvest. And if the farmer decides to rest instead of tending the crops during the growing phase or if the farmer rests instead of harvesting, the results will be disastrous.

Even if we’re diligent during the seed phase of making our dreams come true, if we rush through the growing phase where we nurture our ideas and prepare them properly for the marketplace, our results could be disastrous as well.

The farmer knows that different plants have different growing times. Radishes are ready for harvesting in 25 to 30 days where pumpkins take 3 to 4 months to mature. Same with our ideas. Some of them are quickly manifesting little things and our more complex ideas may take months or years of growth before we see results. A farmer doesn’t rush the crops and we shouldn’t rush our ideas!

If you find yourself hitting a rough patch, stop and analyze what’s going on. You may find that you’ve rushed through a phase, or got them out of order, or completely skipped a phase!

Your Friend and Pep Pal,
Lauren

Mother Nature’s Wisdom: Awesome Trees

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I have a special place in my heart for trees. I loved climbing them as a child and I loved playing in the tree fort my dad built for us kids.

Trees can be tall and stately like oaks or pines, they can be graceful like a beech and maple trees, and in the fall many delight us with their beautiful display of multi-colored leaves.

When we hit a rough patch, we can take a lesson from the trees. For the most part, they stay firmly rooted during storms–they have unshakable foundations–yet they are flexible, bending and swaying in the turbulent weather. Even when they suffer damage–limbs are ripped off in high winds or a lightning strike seared them in half. they grow new limbs, new trunks, and form new leaves and seeds.

In what soil are your roots planted?

To be strong and firm, they need to be in excellent soil, and that soil is you. To have your roots outside of yourself makes them too vulnerable to forces that you can’t do anything about.

Are your branches flexible?

To develop and maintain the ability to handle change well, devise a program of self-study where you are pursing topics that interest you and delving into subjects that capture your imagination.

Do you sprout new shoots when setbacks occur?

We all have obstacles and disappointments. Instead of wallowing and getting stuck, can you find a new perspective or has new information come to light that you can build upon?

Are you adding beauty and grace to the world?

Offer shade or rest to others through kind words and a helping hand; share information and your skills with others and help them as they live their lives.  Remember, too, to have fun!  Play Frisbee with your friends, toss a ball back and forth with your kids, go to the playground and swing on the swings!

What lessons and gifts have you received from the trees you’ve known? Feel free to share in the comments below. Thanks!

Your Friend and Pep Pal,

Lauren

Mother Nature’s Wisdom: Balancing Busy-ness with Rest

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Each animal and plant has a circadian rhythm that’s finely tuned to its particular species. Whether they’re wired to be awake in the daylight or if they are made for the night, they work and keep busy at the allotted time period and when that’s over, they rest.

They have flawlessly balanced being busy and fully resting.

What a concept!

They aren’t like us where we work, work, work until we collapse with some nervous disorder. And they aren’t like us where they can’t sleep at night because their minds are going around and around in worry. They really aren’t like us because when they’re resting, they aren’t constantly checking phones, emails, social media….

Another bit of wisdom we can glean from Mother Nature: Work when it’s time to work; rest when it’s time to rest!

Your Friend and Pep Pal,

Lauren

Mother Nature’s Wisdom: More Than Weeding and Mowing

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Yesterday we went outside and observed nature around us. What interesting things did you notice?

I saw that all of nature is totally committed to being what it is. Each animal, plant, and rock is exactly what it is–no more and no less. What I mean is that trees are trees, rocks are rocks, and animals are totally what they are.

A tree doesn’t try to have gravel instead of leaves and it doesn’t stunt itself so it can be a shrub. A bird isn’t embarrassed or ashamed of flying, building nests, and eating insects and berries. And flowers don’t try to bloom with feathers or fur instead of petals and stamens.

So, why do we try to be someone and something we aren’t?

Of course it’s perfectly fine to be inspired by what someone else is doing and it’s fine for us to try that for ourselves. It’s great if we find that it’s a perfect fit for us and if we find that we love it.

But if it isn’t ringing true for us, instead of twisting ourselves into a pretzel, let’s take our cue from Mother Nature and be who we are–all of who we are. Let that thing go and move into who you truly are meant to be.

Your Friend and Pep Pal,
Lauren

Mother Nature’s Wisdom

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Summer is in full swing and Mother Nature is at her most bountiful abundant prolific time.

This week we’ll talk about the wisdom we can glean from Mother Nature. She has much to teach us, if we’d only pause a moment and become aware of her. She doesn’t use abstract concepts that we have to wrap our minds around, rather she actually shows us through the actions of living things the Guiding Principles of Life.

Let’s make a pact that this week, as we explore and extract the teachings from the natural world around us, we’ll spend as much time as we can outdoors quietly watching, looking, and seeing what we see. Then we’ll take the time to note our observations and ponder how they might apply to our life.

Let’s start this today!

In the comments below, feel free to let me know what you discover. Thanks!

Your Friend and Pep Pal,

Lauren

Noblesse Oblige: What to Do if You’re Feeling Bad About Yourself – 6 Steps to Take

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When you’re feeling bad about yourself and can’t seem to shake it, here’s what to do:

1. Ditch the negative people around you as fast as you can! The reason you can’t shake feeling bad about yourself and your life is probably because you’re hanging around people who don’t value you, appreciate you, and/or celebrate you. They’re also the people who see nothing but woe and disaster ahead of you, which is most definitely NOT what you need right now.

What do you do? DISTANCE YOURSELF FROM THEM AS FAST AS YOU CAN!!!

Call up a few of your friends who make you feel great about yourself and always have something nice to say to you. Be up front with them and tell them you’ve had a hard day and you need them to remind you of a few good things about yourself. Jot them down and keep them handy in a scrapbook or in a folder on your mobile device or computer.

2. You’ve forgotten or lost–or never had it in the first place!!–a vision of the fabulous future that awaits you.

What do you do? REMEMBER THE DELICIOUS FUTURE THAT’S WAITING FOR YOU!

Get out your vision board, your mission statement, your Scrapbook of Optimism and remind yourself that the rough patch you’re in right now is NOT permanent–it, too, will pass. Remind yourself that better days are ahead. Remind yourself that, no matter how wonderful your life may have been in the past, your best days are still yet to come–they’re still ahead of you!

And, if you don’t have an exciting future imagined for yourself, then immediately and right now and at this very instant start dreaming! Write it all down, make a collage, choose some sort of item or symbol that reminds you of your dreams and keep that symbol where you can see it every single day.

3. Get the icky feelings and emotions out of your system!  Best advice from a dear friend: vent, steam, rant, rave, cry, gnash your teeth, shake your fist, scream if you have to and then take the next step forward.

What do you do? DON’T WALLOW; KEEP PRESSING ONWARD!

4. Pressing forward looks like this: networking to find a new job, bartering with friends and loved ones to get the help you need to clear out the clutter in your home, taking classes online to improve your knowledge and skills…. Put on your Thinking Cap and come up with the things YOU can do that will help YOU.

What do you do when you’ve done all you can? LET GO AND TRUST THAT THE GOOD WORKS YOU JUST DID ARE GOING FORTH AND BRINGING GOOD STUFF BACK TO YOU

5. Make your waiting time productive by pursuing things that interest you, that make you feel good, that bring you peace and contentment. I’m not talking about hedonistic pursuits, I’m talking about the soul-prospering pursuits.

What do you do next? GET BUSY!!

Some soul-prospering pursuits are: spending time with your hobbies, enjoying the people you love and who make you feel loved and cared for, following the thread of a new idea or activity that has captured your interest, taking a class in a topic that, for you, is “off the wall”, volunteering your time and helping others…. I’m sure you can come up with your own ideas to follow through on.

6. What do you do after all this? REPEAT THESE STEPS AS OFTEN AS NEEDED.

 

Let me know how these simple steps work out for you. Thanks!

Your Friend and Pep Pal,
Lauren