Pruning to Achieve Your PPGroove
You may have heard about the terrible freeze that Houston experienced this past February. For my northern friends out there, it may have seemed like hype compared to the weather that y’all experience.
However, we’re just not made for it down here. Our infrastructure, in addition to our people aren’t built for it. Neither is our typical vegetation.
So, for the past two months, brown, dried-up flora and fauna were the only thing that our landscapes displayed. Slowly, that has begun to change to showcase the new life that is springing forth. However, to make way for that new growth, we have been required to prune away all the things that are ugly, fruitless, and now dead.
There is a parallel semblance that I derive from observing this in nature. To reap the harvest and advance in our efforts, we must be willing to trim back and strip away the areas holding us back.
These may be our own self-defeating thoughts, bad habits and relationships, and any material objects that may be getting your way. If you’re like me and many folks that I know, collecting (some might call it hoarding) comes easier to us than letting go.
I know; I know. You might need that (insert whatever useless item’s name) someday. Yet, what if you knew that by releasing it you might open yourself up in an area which advances your network, your skills and/or your overall fiscal, physical, and emotional health, and prosperity?
It’s something that I’ve been experimenting with this past year and into my new PPGroove. (That stands for Post Pandemic Groove, as I’ve now taken to calling it.)
There are so many people, places, and things that I have gone without seeing, needing, and using that I am now reevaluating my priorities.
People – I choose to be around those individuals who fill my tank and are good for my spirit and soul. Life is short; I get to be selective about those with whom I surround myself.
Places – I choose to attend the events, venues, and sites that interest my curiosity and advance my knowledge and wisdom.
Things – I choose to live by the mantra Presence versus Presents. I carry the memories and feelings from each cultural experience of my past and anticipate those of my future.
What do you choose to prune away in your own PPGroove?
Get reflective, then creative as you try new things.
Don’t forget to part with as much new as you bring forth. Otherwise, your “garden” will be overgrown, unproductive, and disheveled. Leonard Sweet’s quote about new growth is a great reminder about this topic: “No one likes the process of pruning and the pain of loss, but fruit only grows in new wood.”
If you would like to discuss this or any other topic, please contact me at dlandry@authentizity.com.
