As we wrap up our study this month of Wayne Dyer’s work in his book, “Happiness is the Way”, this Sunday’s topic is “Cultivate Your Own Garden”. This topic is actually from the book Candide written by Voltaire a few centuries. The story is about the journey of a man and his partner looking for themselves. The very last line of the book is: “We must learn to cultivate our own garden.”
This life has been given to us, I believe, as a gift from the Father. He has given us free will to do with it as we see fit. Each of us has our own journey to make. Yes, each will encounter and blend with other fellow travelers along our path, but ultimately it is up to each of us to plant, tend and reap what we have sown. Therefore, we must first decide what it is we want to plant, for we all know if you plant a tomato seed, a tomato will emerge. What seeds are you planting, for surely that will be your harvest.
Realize too that life is lived one moment and day at a time. If you discover you are reaping bitterness, resentment, and problem after problem, then change what you are planting! Exchange having a problem for having a solution. If it’s someone else’s problem, it’s not yours to tend – don’t take it on, you probably have enough of your own.
Dyer says, “Tibetan Buddhism teaches: “Everything in the universe is exactly as it should be.” The evidence of this is: it is. That’s all. If you can change things then do so, instead of getting mad at the world for the way it is or blaming the mirror for what it reflects. Accept it, and then do what you can to improve it.” It comes down to a decision of being right or being happy – which would you prefer? Gandhi summarized his philosophy in a few words. He quoted the great Vedic text, the Upanishads: “Renounce and enjoy!”
Say with me: “Today I am my own person. I let others be themselves and I choose to look for solutions over problems. I plant seeds of love, letting go of outcomes and attachments. I choose to be happy.”
—Rev. Gay Beauregard, Alpine Church of Spiritual Living
