Do you want to know what intoxicates the soul most of all? And prevents you from flourishing?

Regrets, the words we never stop repeating to ourselves and living in the past. 

The study you didn’t finish, the exam you didn’t pass, the job you believe to be the cause of your difficulties or the relationship you believe to be wrong: These are all choices you made. After all, you had to make them because your growth needed exactly those choices, those paths. Every time you regret the past, you carry yourself inside a dead and buried energy. In that place, nothing grows except the permanence of your present state of mind. And therefore, the suffering persists.

To free ourselves from these woodworms, we need to start pruning our tree branches and asking ourselves what we need to get rid of, what way of thinking prevents us from picking the fruits of realisation. Take the example of the gardeners; they cut down the branches to keep them green. And why, sometimes, we stuck to relationships and fruitless thoughts that weaken us? Is it because we fear what comes next or of losing someone or something?

If you want your branches to keep green, too, first try to eliminate relationships and commitments that exhaust you. I am fully aware that there are times where we feel dazed, anxious, empty, and are struggling with several issues, and this state of mind does not help to prioritise.

When you feel that way, ask yourself if what you are doing pleases or excites you. If it’s a NO, then eliminate activities that give you nothing back.

Review your commitments: Are they all necessary? How long have they not changed? Reconsider them in the light of current needs.

Avoid showing yourself to be available all the time: Always choose and start saying a few NO’s. And remember, if you want to keep your branches green, you have to cut them from time to time.

Photo by Pascale Weber