31/05/2026
I wonder if any of you were also able to make the most of the gorgeous weather this weekend to enjoy a bit of gardening - a hobby I never thought I would get into! As I pruned and planted, I also pondered…
How come the plants we love - the roses and peonies, the strawberries and tomatoes, need regular attention, yet the weeds just shoot up overnight as if from nowhere?
The same is true of our thoughts, our inner voice, if you like. How come it is so hard to think positive, affirming, kind things about ourselves; yet the cruel inner critic is always there telling us we’re not good enough, replaying mistakes, comparing ourselves and catastrophising worse case scenarios.
Those negative thoughts pop through like weeds, because we have been conditioned to think them, sometimes for generations past, like weeds thriving in the soil they have adapted to. But it doesn’t take really much patience or knowledge to cultivate your garden with beautiful plants (if I can do it, anyone can!). The same is true of your thoughts.
Allow yourself to notice the glimmers and nourish them. Question whether an old belief still serves you, or whether you can prune it back. Speak to yourself with the compassion and understanding, not ripping out a plant before the berries can ripen.
We believe our inner critic is there to help us, to make us be ‘better’. There’s an illusion that harsh self-judgement can shame us into one day making us worthy of acceptance, maybe even love. If that worked, it would have worked by now. You cannot hate yourself into loving yourself.
So I wonder if we could all allow ourselves to put as much effort into cultivating the positive within ourselves as we do with our gardening, (or any other hobbies). We live for a long time in the garden of our mind, why not make it the most beautiful place you can imagine.
