A few times in the last month, I’ve written about a dogwood tree that I see on my walks. This tree suffered damage either by lightning or high winds that ripped a core branch off, severely disfiguring what remained. 

The owner made the hard choice of pruning this gorgeous tree’s branches way back so that it can begin the long journey of self correction. If you missed any of those emails and want the back story, click here.

Pruning is a frequent topic in my book, Finding the Gift: Daily Meditations for Mindfulness, and it never ceases to be a source of powerful inspiration for me. Assessing areas of my life like I would a tree or a plant in my care challenges me to a higher perspective and an honest self-appraisal. I evaluate my tree of life and ask myself where I need or want more growth regarding the areas most important to me, and where do I need to stop giving of myself to activities that are not serving the tree as a whole?

A little over a month has passed since I last shared a photograph of this tree (the back story link above has the last photo if you want to flash back). As you can see from the abundant foliage now coming in, she inherently knows she needs growth all around the base, especially on the side where the devastation occurred. Eventually branches will come forth to fill in the area that is deficient. The tree owner’s work is done. Mostly.

While now it’s largely a matter of sun, rain, and time, the owner must also continue to prune back areas that don’t serve the greater good, like the new branches that have started growing at the base of the trunk on the ground. By keeping that area pruned, all of the trees’ resources can be used higher up where they’re needed most, in the empty places. 

(I may or may not have “helped” the owner by pruning some of those low shoots for him today. Pruning where it hasn’t been asked for, to “help” others grow where we think they need to is a lesson I'm still learning and a topic for another day! ; )

Where are you experiencing imbalance? If I were to look at the areas of your life, like spokes on a wheel, would it be a smooth ride or would it be bumpy, rocky road? The seventh module in my coaching program, A Life Worth Having, helps to address areas of lack and places where we are missing fruit, where, if we could visually see a life, we might notice a big hole where a limb once was. 

Yes, once was, because whether you know it or not, most of us have gaps that need re-filling, too.

We came into this world whole and in balance. Life has steered us into whatever imbalances we may experience today. Some things are out of our control, but pruning lets us use what is within our power for shaping our present and our future.

Not sure what to cut to grow forward? Take a big step back and snap a mental picture of your life and all the individual "branches" you nurture. I love the example of a wheel spoke when looking at balance issues. But using inspiration from this tree, let’s engage in a drawing activity. Artist or no, everyone loves to create, even if you don’t know this about yourself.

Draw the base of a tree trunk. To the side, name the key areas of your life that take up your time and energy, such as work, family, spiritual pursuits, nutrition, physical, fitness, and sleep. There are no right categories, just whatever is relevant and valued by you.

Add a branch to the tree for each category, keeping its size in proportion to how much time and energy it takes up in your life (the more time, energy, and attention, the bigger the branch). A big branch might be a great thing, or it might be a place to cut back, showing you where energy is going that might be better used elsewhere. 

For instance, I would have to draw a branch for “phone zoning out” and then be really honest with myself about how big that branch is compared to work, sleep, spiritual pursuits, rest and fun.

If you’re not sure how big to draw each branch, think about how much time and energy you spend every day or week in each category, and let the branches represent the size of those personal investments.

Up until about a year ago, the branch I labeled fun would be a lot smaller than the branch I labeled work. But I have been pruning—redirecting resources and building in support to hold me accountable for correcting this imbalance. That’s why I bought a paddleboard. That’s why, for no good reason, actually for every good reason, I will take an afternoon off to re-create myself on the lake.

Awareness is the first step to change. We can’t change anything when we haven’t acknowledged a need for something different. With increased awareness, we are ready to take the necessary actions.

Time is a free gift and we all access the same twenty-four hours. Prune back the places that are stealing your resources and directing your time and energy away from the places that really need it. Prune back what isn’t serving you so more fruit can be enjoyed where you want it. The elements will nurture you as well, but don’t forget to do your part.

Happy pruning today! I would love to see your drawings of your trees. Post them in our FTG Readers Group on Facebook, if you feel willing to do that. (I accepted the challenge myself and you can see my drawing here.)