Lawn Care and Attitude

I've been reading allot lately about attitude and how that affects not just ourselves, but also those around us.  I find it amazing that a person's attitude, basically how they feel or think about something, can affect how our day goes as well.  If you are feeling down and you get around someone who is happy and looks at life with a positive attitude, it can actually help to improve your own mood.  By the same token, the reverse is also true.  We've all met "Negative Nellie".

What does this have to do with lawn care?  Well thanks for asking.  Each year at this time I begin the annual ritual of cleaning up the debris on the lawn from the fall and winter -- leaves, sticks, dirt from along the side of the road, that kind of stuff.  When the job is complete, the lawn looks nice and clean and when it gets warm enough, the grass starts to get green.

For the first few weeks there is a nice green carpet surrounding my house.  If I do nothing else it looks good for a while.  But then my old nemesis returns.  The Dandelion (cue ominous music).  The dandelion, if left to grow, eventually turns into that cute puff ball that kids like to blow everywhere.  Each of those little pieces of fluff carries with it a seed which if left in fertile soil (and sometimes not so fertile soil too), will grow into another dandelion.  If I'm not careful, the whole lawn will be full of them after a while.  But if I work at pulling the stalks before they become flowers, the lawn remains tidy and clear of them.

Now... think of the dandelion as negative thoughts.  We all have them.  The important thing is to remember to deal with these negative thoughts early -- just like the dandelions on the lawn.  If we let our negative thoughts grow they will eventually spread to our whole way of thinking about, and dealing with, the world around us. 

On the other hand, if we can get into the practice of pulling our negative thoughts early and just rethink our position, we can do wondrous things.  Our focus on positive thoughts will affect our attitude and our mood.  Eventually, with enough practice, we will be able to recognize our negative attitude immediately and pull the 'dandelions' so we can have a better attitude.  I'm not saying that by doing this we will never have a bad day.  But if we recognize our attitude towards our life for what it is, a choice, wouldn't you rather choose to be a positive influence on those around you?