Whack Away the Weeds
I was doing a little yard maintenance this evening after work. I am taking care of my sisters place while she and her family are on vacation in Europe. Lucky Me! It's actually pretty good, but that's a story for another post.
I honestly like doing yard work...most of the time. I did decide to become a farmer after all, so my livelihood is eventually going to depend on how well I can grow grass to feed herbivores.
But I wasn't exactly feeling it when I got started. I looked down the fence line and just saw an abyss of grass that needed to be lopped off. I sighed and fired up the weed-whacker. It's actually electric, so it doesn't't really fire up, but you know what I mean.
As I was going along I would, every few minutes, look down the line at the sea of grass still to take down, and I'd get a little depressed. I would tell myself things like, "this can probably wait until tomorrow" or "Eden's in Europe, she'll have no idea the place looks like a mess".
The more often I looked ahead and saw how much more there was to be done, the more I felt like giving it a rest.
The wind must of changed directions or something because the smell of the fresh cut grass landed on my brain like a thunder clap and is was amazing. I don't know of a more nostalgic aroma in the world than fresh cut grass. Brings me back to summers as a kid when every piece of clothing I owned was covered in grass stains.
The smell of the grass prompted me to look in the other direction, towards the fence line I had already finished. It was beautiful. How clean it all looked made me smile, and I was proud of what I had created.
I got back to work, enjoying the smell of the grass and taking even greater pride in what was in front of me.
The Best Part!
The job is know finished, and I am beaming at my accomplishment from the porch. The cocktail in my hand tastes far better than it would have if I was staring at sloppy job half-finished.
Be present in what you do. Take pride in every moment. Don't be scared by the amount of work that lies ahead, you can only get it done one moment at a time.
Cheers,
Haven
Recent Comments
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I have a garden when I need to clean up, I will start with one corner. then the next day I will continue gradually, in that way I don't feel the amount of work.
I hope you glow with pride when you come out and see how great that first clean corner looks!
Thanks for reading,
Haven
Whatever you do, be the best at it, my dad used to say.
Fresh cut grass smells absolutely delightful!
C & P
Thanks for the analogy Haven. Being a Gardener and having a garden website,like you, I use the same methods to get through the work load for both jobs. When I arrive at a place that needs a huge clean up I only really focus on the first few square mtrs (or yards) , having completed that I move on to my next small target area. In no time I have completed the job. Working on my website is exactly the same. Jim
Yup. Often, for me, getting started is the hardest part. If I can dig in to one small task, and focus, good things tend to happen and work gets done.
Haven
Good post! I have felt that way about an article I have been trying to get done all week. I need to quit thinking about how big of a post this one is and just keep at it and it will get done.
Exactly, Heidi. Whenever I am trying to get something done for the sake of getting it done, I usually don't enjoy the process, and don't much like the end result.
Thanks for reading,
Haven
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Hi Haven. I too agree we need to produce work to be proud of.
I've come to believe that is the only thing that matters. Whether it's weed whacking or our greatest life's work.
Haven