A Pre-Pandemic Post from Five Years Ago: Yes, It's About Manure
Today I am grateful for effective meditation time this morning, and for my emotions. All of them are teachers and guides. I am grateful for the people in my life with whom I can let down my guard, including myself.
Another "Happy Birthday" wish for my brother Morry today, and well-wishes to all reading this.
I decided to revisit pre-pandemic times and was looking at posts from this date in previous years.
I landed on one from five years ago.
An excerpt from my post titled Spreading Manure from March 25, 2015:
There are plenty of analogies and metaphors about life when discussing manure. If manure is never cleared out, it becomes a rotting, heaping pile of major stink. It works better to reduce the pile and spread it out so air can get to it. Spread it out and let nature take its course and turn it to nutrients for the soil.
That is what I must do with my fears, worries, bouts of self-pity. Reduce the pile. Spread it out so air and faith can get in and heal. Help convert the troubles into some grace and gratitude.
Within that post, I linked to one from earlier in 2015, as I was working my way through an A-Z gratitude list. Here's an excerpt from that post, titled Manure, from January 3.
But manure is more than smelly waste. Manure is good fertilizer for fields and gardens. It's an effective recycling program and one that has been used for hundreds and thousands of years. In fact, a wider definition of manure is any refuse used as fertilizer. Table scraps. Fruit peels. My mom got more use out of more things like that and taught her children valuable lessons about caring for God's creation. She continues those practices today.
And then I considered manure on a more figurative level. What difficulties and challenges, what manure of my life, became good fertilizer for later growth and flourishing? Drinking to excess. Perfectionism. Putting myself and others in harm's way because of my drinking. Self-hatred. Smoking. Thoughts of depression and worthlessness. Not liking my body. Plenty of smelly manure, broken dreams, wasted time in all of that.
Today I am forever grateful to the people who helped me put the waste in it's place-as fertilizer for a healthier future. I am grateful to my Higher Power for helping convert the waste to the wonderful gifts of self-acceptance and sobriety. Without the messy, smelly times in life, I wouldn't be here at this fruitful place.
Reading these posts again, in the midst of pandemic times, I grabbed on to lines like: Reduce the pile. Help convert the troubles into some grace and gratitude. What difficulties and challenges, what manures of my life, became good fertilizer for later growth and flourishing?
In ways, these current times feel like a steaming pile of manure. We're stuck in it and it stinks. It's too soon to know the wider lessons, but today's lesson for me will be focused on accepting what is and doing what I can to add to the positive stream that still flows strong, even through piles of manure.
Another "Happy Birthday" wish for my brother Morry today, and well-wishes to all reading this.
I decided to revisit pre-pandemic times and was looking at posts from this date in previous years.
I landed on one from five years ago.
An excerpt from my post titled Spreading Manure from March 25, 2015:
There are plenty of analogies and metaphors about life when discussing manure. If manure is never cleared out, it becomes a rotting, heaping pile of major stink. It works better to reduce the pile and spread it out so air can get to it. Spread it out and let nature take its course and turn it to nutrients for the soil.
That is what I must do with my fears, worries, bouts of self-pity. Reduce the pile. Spread it out so air and faith can get in and heal. Help convert the troubles into some grace and gratitude.
Within that post, I linked to one from earlier in 2015, as I was working my way through an A-Z gratitude list. Here's an excerpt from that post, titled Manure, from January 3.
But manure is more than smelly waste. Manure is good fertilizer for fields and gardens. It's an effective recycling program and one that has been used for hundreds and thousands of years. In fact, a wider definition of manure is any refuse used as fertilizer. Table scraps. Fruit peels. My mom got more use out of more things like that and taught her children valuable lessons about caring for God's creation. She continues those practices today.
And then I considered manure on a more figurative level. What difficulties and challenges, what manure of my life, became good fertilizer for later growth and flourishing? Drinking to excess. Perfectionism. Putting myself and others in harm's way because of my drinking. Self-hatred. Smoking. Thoughts of depression and worthlessness. Not liking my body. Plenty of smelly manure, broken dreams, wasted time in all of that.
Today I am forever grateful to the people who helped me put the waste in it's place-as fertilizer for a healthier future. I am grateful to my Higher Power for helping convert the waste to the wonderful gifts of self-acceptance and sobriety. Without the messy, smelly times in life, I wouldn't be here at this fruitful place.
Reading these posts again, in the midst of pandemic times, I grabbed on to lines like: Reduce the pile. Help convert the troubles into some grace and gratitude. What difficulties and challenges, what manures of my life, became good fertilizer for later growth and flourishing?
In ways, these current times feel like a steaming pile of manure. We're stuck in it and it stinks. It's too soon to know the wider lessons, but today's lesson for me will be focused on accepting what is and doing what I can to add to the positive stream that still flows strong, even through piles of manure.
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