While pruning my small trees the other day, I thought the trees must feel the pain of the deep cuts I am inflicting them. But I also saw beauty with well-trimmed leaves and well-pruned branches. In time, the trees will heal and be more robust and more fruitful and beautiful! I thought it must be fun if I can apply this lesson to real life and make my life more beautiful too!
Pruning myself:
I want to prune my life of all its useless trappings and activities and simplify it down to its bare essentials and hold on to what really matters. It is painful letting go of bad habits, like spending less time with family due to excessive time on social media, (our son keeps reminding us), materialism, wrong priorities, etc... But I am positive that in due time, this pruning will make my life more simple, beautiful and fruitful. Let me spend more time with loved ones, more time serving God, more time with my friends and treat well my neighbors as I also consider them as “myself in disguise”.
Gardening as a stress reliever :
When I'm amidst the the different plants I tended, I lost track of time. I love the quietness, the deafening silence and the freewheeling brain exercise. I set aside diagnosing human diseases and figuring out their management on the back burner. It’s my brain’s time to reconnect its axons and neurons and reclaim its sanity. Gardening is its respite. This is the time my brain is relaxed, peaceful and appreciative of the different colors of plants and other beautiful flora. At least, these plants don’t talk back at me. Although, I sometimes argue over issues in my head and I talk to myself while gardening, I find it fun and relaxing! If someone is watching me from a distance, he or she may think I’m crazy talking to the plants.
But hey, I guarantee you, all my senses are intact. I still have my sanity. I am just having fun gardening.
(Photos courtesy of Luzviminda.)
About the Author
A farmer's daughter, Dr. Luviminda Saidro was born and raised in a small barrio in Ifugao, Philippines. She became a physician through scholarships (Government and Missionary Scholarships). After graduation, she served with the Catholic Missionaries as a vicariate physician in Benguet and Ifugao then had a short stint working at Ifugao Provincial Hospital in the Philippines before moving to the USA to join her husband. She hurdled through the tedious US Medical Licensure Examinations and had Residency Training in Family Medicine. She currently works with the California Dept of Corrections. Married to an Episcopalian, she eventually became one herself. Dr. Saidro also finds joy in spending time with her wonderful friends and family, including her one and only son, who is pursuing a career in nursing.
