I’ve read somewhere that we are all in control of our own happiness and that the way we react and respond to things is a choice. You know, seeing the glass half full kind of thinking.
However, at times that is just plain hard!
For instance, the time we burned off all the leaves that had caught and gathered along bushes (roses) and flower beds. (without me knowing…) It killed every rose bush and left bare, burned marks in the yard. We lost a few other plants too, but hey—I did not have to rake those leaves out again, right?
For the next few years I would be sad to have lost some pretty flowers. I would buy new rose bushes, but they didn’t survive. Who knew that roses were so hard to get rooted. And the patches of weeds that had sprouted up in the burned areas of the yard where there was once grass… I got over it more and more each year, because, honestly, I needed to get over it. There you go, didn’t have to worry about some silly bush catching the leaves each year.
In theory, the dried leaves would burn off and not damage the green new growth.
Reality just didn’t follow that train of thought. Raised as farmers, when you burn off a meadow it makes it better for the new growth. Unfortunately, the same does not apply to flower beds and lawns.
A family member who is an avid gardener couldn’t believe I didn’t go ballistic. What would be the point? It wasn’t done with malice or mean intent. I guess as we age, the bigger picture becomes more in focus.
We’ve heard “don’t sweat the small stuff.” However, it’s more than that. It takes a lot of energy to be mad.
My new “measurement” as to how I’m going to react is “no one died did they?” If the answer is no and I have another day, all is well in my world.
