Do not blame the lettuce!

When you plant lettuce, don’t blame the lettuce if it doesn’t grow well. Look into the reasons why it’s not doing well! Maybe it needs fertilizer, or more water, or less sun. You don’t blame the lettuce! (The well-known spiritual teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh is credited with this lesson!)

Yet when we have problems with our friends or our family, we often blame the other person. But if we know how to take care of them, they will grow well-just like the lettuce.

Blaming has no positive effect at all, nor does trying to persuade by means of reason or argument. (At least, that has been my experience!)

Being alert to the necessity for balancing the need for “fertilizer, water and/or sun” can help us come to understand the situation and the person. And with that understanding comes love and the opportunity for growth and blessings.

Now, if you are the lettuce…blame, reason, argument still don’t help you!

Very often we are harsh with ourselves, when we wouldn’t be with our friends. We need to treat ourselves as well as we would treat our best friend.

We are our own “lettuce” as well as the gardener for our patch of friends and life experiences with others.

So…

• let’s be kind,
• let’s be gentle, and
• let’s be smart.

And, just maybe, we can remember that we are not really in charge!

Will you eat that frog?

The frog in this Mark Twain quote has been long adopted by the business community and by productivity advocates to represent the one task or activity you are least looking forward to completing over the course of your day. The idea is that once the unappealing task is done, the rest of the day is […]

2 sides to every coin…

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More chocolate?

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2 things to know…

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The power of just one word…

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An interesting theory!

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Is it really too much?

In our culture, our instinct is to fill it up. We’re used to having a coffee cup that nearly reaches the rim or a level of debt that’s just below our debt limit. If we don’t want to risk spilling the hot coffee or be caught with not enough credit to handle an unexpected crisis, […]

Why today can be awesome!

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Are you sometimes irritated?

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