Trim More Than The Tree This Holiday Season

‘Trimming away the old encourages new growth.’ This thought washed over me as I trimmed my bushes in the warm sun of a glorious late September afternoon. Not being much of a gardener, I’ve always resisted with a vengeance pulling up or cutting off anything green in my yard; clinging to the ...‘Trimming away the old encourages new growth.’ This thought washed over me as I trimmed my bushes in the warm sun of a glorious late September afternoon. Not being much of a gardener, I’ve always resisted with a vengeance pulling up or cutting off anything green in my yard; clinging to the thought that if it is alive then it deserves to grow. Even if it means my yard looks like a misshapen jungle. Fortunately, a lawn service has kept me from being the eyesore of the neighborhood, though the bushes nodded their shaggy heads at me today, urging me to shape them up.

As the sun beat down it felt like summer, though I knew that all the lush, green beauty around me would soon hibernate. This is okay, for spectacular autumn offers a chance to reflect on the past year and to prepare during the dormant winter for the blossoming that spring brings.

Anais Nin said, ‘And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.’ All opening up is a risk. It requires vulnerability and trust. For without growth, without opening up, we whither away. Our underbrush turns brown, choking from lack of light and our blossoms become buried, unable to bloom, or fall off dead.

Trust yourself. Begin by opening up to who you are and what lies at your center. The seeds of all you need to know to have a fabulous, fulfilling life are already there!
When you find the unique center that holds all your special talents and gifts, let them shine and let go of what has buried them! As you trim away that in your life which is wilted, your natural talents will emerge. Prune back what has hidden your brilliance so that by spring it will bloom. As the New Year approaches, it’s a perfect time to reflect on those gifts that you have hidden from the world and plan steps to cultivate them. Taking action is the only way to create your ideal life. A few tips on how to begin:

•Set your intention for what you want to create in your life in 2005. Think BIG!
•Start a journal as a place to put all your goals and dreams and the steps you can take to achieve them. Baby steps will get you there – standing still will not.
•Commit to specific action. Ask yourself, ‘What can I do today toward my dream?’ and DO IT!
•Work with a life coach to support you, motivate you and hold you accountable to taking the steps to fulfilling your dream.

My resistance to pull weeds, trim trees and even cut my hair makes me see that they were symbols of my need to hang on to what I thought I wanted, what looked like more even if it became dull and lifeless. By clearing away that which was wilting in my life, I uncovered the wisdom to know what I need to do to keep growing and what would hold me back.

Looking out over my nicely trimmed yard, my bushes happy with their new haircuts, buds ripe with the promise of the last brilliant blossoms of the season, I think perhaps it might be time to cut my own. My long straight hair, a point of contention with my mother who reminds me, in my 40’s, “Aren’t you a little old for that long hair?” feels youthful to me, is pretty. I like the feel of it against my neck and shoulders and the ease with which I can just put it up and go. I ponder for a moment whether there is a deeper attachment to my hair as a symbol of holding on to something. “Nah”, I think as I tuck a purple bloom into my ponytail, “I just like it.”

But I could definitely use a trim.