The Mind Is a Garden

“The mind is like a garden. You can grow flowers or you can grow thorns.”

Our minds are gardens, and every thought is a seed.

What we repeatedly think about, dwell upon and give our attention to is what we gradually cultivate. If we water our minds with gratitude, kindness, hope, forgiveness and wisdom, something beautiful begins to grow. But if we constantly nurture anger, resentment, fear, envy and bitterness, those too will take root.

The important thing to remember is that a garden does not become overgrown with thorns overnight, nor does it bloom in a single day. It is shaped by what we choose to plant, what we choose to water and what we choose to remove.

We cannot always control the seeds that life drops into our minds. Pain, disappointment, betrayal and loss may leave behind weeds we never intended to grow. But we can decide whether to keep watering them.

Sometimes, cultivating the mind means having the courage to pull out an old thorn, a painful memory, a destructive habit, an unforgiving thought, and make room for something new.

Your mind is your garden. Your thoughts are the seeds. Your attention is the water. Your choices are the gardener.

So, what are you growing today?

Because sooner or later, the garden of the mind becomes the landscape of our lives.

— Inspired by a Buddhist teaching