Have you ever noticed that when you’re walking around your own yard you tend to notice all the flaws? You notice how that rose bush isn’t blooming as well this year, the grass has weeds, and the hydrangea is a bit misshapen because the sun is blocked by another tree.
Compare that to the thoughts you have when you walk in the woods. You don’t criticize a tree that is growing at an angle, or moss that is only partly covering a rock. You don’t point out all the weeds, you look around in awe and appreciation at the beauty and diversity of plant life and wildflowers.
What is this trend all about? Many of us have the inclination to criticize, judge, and find fault with the things closest to us – the things that might reflect on us. When our self-worth gets tied to external markers, like the state of our yard, we risk becoming very controlling and judgmental.
Can you guess at the most destructive area where this occurs in our lives? In our relationships. When your employee, co-worker, friend, child, parent, etc., becomes (in your mind) a reflection of you, they likely get an extra dose of your fault-finding. Trying to increase our self-worth and self-esteem from outside of ourselves is always dangerous, for ourselves and everyone around us. Pay attention to this trend in your own life; what do you notice?
To less judgments and more appreciation
