Pruning
While reading "The Power of Now" (yes, I'm still reading it...) I was once again reminded that sometimes you have to cut back in order to grow. This type of thinking is not an issue for me in the garden:
This is what my fairy cottage looked like when I arrived. I love the wildness, yet everything is blending together and the whole place has a buried feeling.
At the moment, it's looking a little barren since we are just heading into spring, but for more than a month I've been working on shaping the rose bushes, digging out bermuda grass and other weeds. I provided some definition to the entryway with rocks, which were in place but buried (not to mention the 7' tall sculpture, huge wheelbarrow, and rake I found underneath all that overgrowth).
Perhaps most importantly I've been pruning all the apple trees on the property... I'm not sure when that was last done (5 years? 10?). It would be great if they respond in happiness this year, but I'm also aware that it might take 2 years and that's okay.
So, why did it stress me out to prune my business last year? Change is always, let's say, interesting. Pruning felt like a bit of a retreat, even though at the end of last year I ended up with a happy accountant... which means I made some good (albeit tough) business decisions. There's still lots of work ahead of me, and I'm not sure if I want to grow... but as the parable goes, I'm primed for it, I guess. I'm trying to remain open to the idea of growth to see where the buds appear, but I'm not going to pursue growth at the rate I have in the past. It's been nice to step back and take a breather. I'm fortunate that I can do that with the lifestyle changes I made as well; things feel more in balance even though I still feel there's lots of behind-the-scenes cleanup to do (kind of like after the tree pruning, there's still several hours of work to do with hauling the branches away).
As spring approaches, both literally (in my garden) and figuratively (in my business), I'll keep you posted with updates of blossoms.