As we moved into fall this year I watched my mother-in-law put her garden to bed. She took so much time with it! Have you ever tried gardening? I have, but it didn’t go so well. It is a lot of work! I joke that I have a “black thumb” — I can even kill a fake plant! The truth is, I don’t give plants the attention they need. I’m just not that into them.

I don’t bring intention to my gardening. Thus, this is what mine would probably look like….

A few years ago, my mother-in-law moved in with us from another state. She’s an avid gardener and lover of the outdoors.  When my girls were little, she used to tell them “Queen of the Forest” stories filled with gardens, gnomes, and trees — all things outdoors.

When she moved to Michigan, she had to learn about our soil. It’s very different from the East Coast. She was patient. She learned. She practiced. She tried new things.

She was intentional.

And now, we have a beautiful garden in our backyard. Where there were once stones, now bloom beds of flowers.

What if we treated our lives the way my mother-in-law treats her garden? She waters her plants, feeds them (she spends way too much on dirt, in my opinion!), tends them, and even talks to them.

When was the last time you tended the garden of your mind?

I once saw a sign in a store that read, “If I have to spend time inside my own mind, I might as well make it a beautiful place to be.”

So today, let’s start planting seeds of kindness, gratitude, and calm in our mental garden. With patience and care, and intention, beautiful growth is possible — even in the toughest soil.