Friday, April 10, 2009

Plant Seeds In Your Own Garden First

Have you ever been on an airplane and the flight attendants tell you that in case of an emergency, put your mask on first and then help others with their masks? The analogy is a beautiful one. That is, often times it may be our tendency to help others first. This may be particularly true with our family members, children or other loved ones. But what good would it be if we try to help others get their masks on and we lose our breaths and go unconscious, then who will we really be helping? Yet, how often do we do this?

The perfect man of old looked after himself first before looking to help others. ~ Chuang Tzu

A similar analogy I recently heard from a friend was plant your seeds in your own garden first. It really hit me. I have spent so much of my life planting my seeds in other people's gardens so they can flourish and thrive and yet, have forgotten to plant seeds in my own garden. Often times after sharing all my gifts and my seeds, I come home exhausted thinking to myself, “where did all the time go and my energy and when am I going to have time to plant seeds in my own garden?” How often does this happen to you?

If you feel ‘burnout’ setting in, if you feel demoralized and exhausted, it is best…to withdraw and restore yourself. The point is to have a long term perspective. ~The Dalai Lama

What if you started today and each day by taking care of and giving to yourself first? Imagine how ready you would be to then share your gifts with the world. Imagine what a different world we would live in if we all found the time to do this. Start today and watch in wonder as the magic unfolds.

Take care of yourself – you never know when the world will need you. ~ Rabbi Hillel

2 comments:

  1. oh my gosh, this rings sooo true for me. I have a radio show, which I pay for, and I spend all my time marketing other people. It's so easy to promote others. I think it has a lot to do with the comfortability of giving rather than receiving...which we know is selfish because if we don't receive, we take away the opportunity for others to give. ok, I'm rambling but I'm glad to see this articulated so well. I will start planting! thank you Pilar for the reminder!

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  2. you are more than welcome...it is funny you should talk about giving and receiving...that is a big one for us all...many of us are soo much better at giving than receiving...so glad to be of service...in peace ;) p

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