Wednesday, April 27, 2011

My Mind is a Garden

I used to say this to myself on occasion when I was younger, like 20's younger. I can't say I came up with the concept, because I picked it up from a book I read back then called, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by R.S. Sharma.

It was one of the concepts he presented in his book. I honestly can't find the book.  But to this day it proves to be a good mantra.

Think about it.  We need to protect our mind from the constant bombardment thrown at it daily from the outside world.  Media, movies, and negative people we may encounter in our daily travels.  My post called Help or Hinder I wrote a while back about those who can be called hinderers and those people who we call helpers is an example of the filter we need to use to protect our "Garden" of a brain.

Where am I going with this? 

I think we all have a tendency to go on "Auto Pilot" the daily grind so to speak but a meeting I had today made me ponder life.

 This post was prompted by an elderly gentlemen I met in my daily travels. He is 94, almost 95. Sharp as a nail, an absolutely amazing person.  He has been on this planet since 1916.  I listened to him tell me about his life and I was in total awe for well over an hour.  Now that's a feat for a guy who's nickname used to be the road runner.

He said to me life is a blessing.  It is a gift. To be able to experience the joys of love, laughter, children, and of course golf.  Now I am not a golfer, but this fellow still hits the course once or twice a year. Amazing or what!!!  He stretches every day. He has lived all over the world and as he says "My wife and I were to busy having fun to argue, she was an amazing woman!"  What an amazing outlook on life.

Needless to say I left this interaction pondering the journey of life. People we love, people who love us. Places we live, the magnificent world we live in. Life truly is an amazing journey. Often over shadowed by our daily routine.

I just wanted to share this interaction. It inspired me to look at all aspects of my life. Where I've come from, where I am, and where I am going. Most importantly to appreciate all of it.

In the grand scheme of things Diabetes was only a small part of the over all picture.

Oh, back to the "Garden".... Basically;  I need to focus on the positive things that nurture my mind, let it grow, and keep it healthy.

I am off to go water my brain---kidding.

Trev


4 comments:

Sarah said...

hope you found a big watering can! LOL!
I love talking with older people about their life experience, I think age helps to put things into perspective and makes many people realize how much time they wasted worrying about things that truly weren't/aren't important. I know watching my father in law die from pancreatic cancer has altered me forever, seeing him only want to be with family and force himself to live so that he could have last moments with all those he loved was amazing. How he ministered to us with his kind words at a time when most would think he needed to be ministered to...truly an amazing man.
I am glad you had this moment to help you see what really matters to you.

Valerie said...

It's always inspiring to meet those people with such a positive, amazing outlook. It can be easy to make everything about D and think that D affects everything...of course, we also have the power to change our outlook and choose to be in a good mood and be positive. You're right, though...D is just a small part of the whole picture..

Unknown said...

What are you "watering" it with? :)

And, oh so true Trev. I think that enjoying the moment on this great earth and with the people we love is at the heart of it all. In a blink of an eye it can all change.

Have a great day...and I love ol' fellas like the one you were fortunate enough to hang with. What a breath of fresh air.

Amy said...

life is a blessing, my friend. What a fabulous perspective to wake up to!