Watering the Garden
How often should we water the garden of our minds?
This is an easy question because I have learned, over many years, how often I need to water my garden. The simple answer: every day. The reason that I personally have to “water” every day is that I have a mental illness. Specifically, Bipolar. When I think about “watering your growing garden” the first thing that comes to mind is self-care.
Self-care is well-known these days, but it should and does look different for everyone. Please do not think that what I do is a one-size-fits-all situation. It took me a while to see what I needed and what helped me the most, and it will be the same for you. Also, I am still finding new strategies for different situations. I do not think there is ever an end to the self-care journey. There will always be new things to learn about yourself and what helps you. That being said, let’s explore some self-care activities and habits together.
Mindfulness. This is a category that has many sub-categories in it. The first, and possibly most obvious, is meditation. I practice meditation probably more sporadically than I should but still do it often enough to feel a benefit from it. The main goal of meditation is to clear your mind. This is much easier said than done. For a beginner, I would advise getting a guided meditation app or going on YouTube. You will feel very silly at first because you are just going to sit there in silence for two to five minutes, but once you get used to it, you might find that you enjoy it. You will start looking forward to the time in your day when you can stop and find inner peace. You will also feel like you are not doing it right because you cannot stop thinking. Do not let this stop you! Your mind was made to think; so it will be hard at first to make it stop and just focus on your breath.
I believe in meditation because, even if I start to feel anxious five minutes after I am finished, it was still a little pocket of time that I was not. Where I had peace. As a person who has an anxiety disorder, I hold those moments as precious.
Meditation can be helpful in general mindfulness. Mindfulness, to me, is the ability to go through life with one’s eyes wide open. By this, I mean; being able to see your life and fully participate in it. Finding joy in what we have been given. I am not saying that life is wonderful all of the time, but when it grants us light, we should see it.
Doing the things that I enjoy. I think it is very hard and counter-cultural to do things that are not productive or appear to be getting us ahead in life. No one wants to slow down and enjoy life. We must always be achieving and striving. For what? To look good? To have it all? To show our Facebook friends, Instagram followers, and YouTube subscribers that we are so successful? If we are doing all of this, how can we fully enjoy life? If we are always going, when will we stop and look at the world and how beautiful it is, and how blessed our lives are?
An example of stopping and appreciating life is going outside and taking a walk. We can use mindfulness to be fully present in these moments. Use all of your senses to take in the world. What do you see? What do you hear? What do you smell? What do you feel? It is so refreshing to be outside, away from anything that does not serve your mental health, and have time to yourself. Time to think and reflect on life.
Choose something that you love doing and set aside time to do it! What excites you? Two of my favorite activities are reading and coloring. Whenever I have the opportunity to color or read, I take it. Because those are things that bring me joy. Why wouldn’t I chase those things? They are so much better, in my mind than any likes I might get on social media. I am not trying to put you down if you enjoy social media. It can be fun, but it can also be destructive. I find it very hard to go leave social media with anything life-giving after scrolling through pictures of people’s best experiences. I do not think it is an accurate portrayal of a person’s life. I believe that most of us can acknowledge this but still battle in our minds why our lives do not look like someone else’s.
Take time for yourself every day and do not listen to anyone that tells you that you should choose something else to do or that you should use that time to “be more productive.” You need to be the priority, not anything else.
The last, most important watering that I give myself is to be in a relationship with my God and the community of other believers that he has given me. For me, this is very important because I believe that God will always be with me. He will carry me through the hardest parts of life and celebrate the joys of life with me. His unfailing love for me has taught me to be able to love myself and others.
The best way that I have found to feel His presence is to pray and read the Bible daily. It is in the daily practice of my faith that I am most watered. If you do not have the same value system I do, I encourage you to find something that can be sacred to you. An activity, time with your best friend, or maybe just some quiet time to yourself.
These are the ways that I have learned and chosen to water my garden. I hope that you have found something to help you in this article. I am in no way an expert but I know what self-care habits help me. I hope that you can find some that help you.
This article was written in response to Ravyne Hawke’s monthly theme writing spark 2:
“How often do you water — practice your faith or spiritual practices — your growing garden — your expanding mindset?”
