Some time ago, Sofan and I were visiting some friends in the country. We were staying a beautiful little guest cabin, surrounded by fruit trees, flowers and even a few goats. Painted above the doorway in brightly coloured, flowing letters were the words:

    Your mind is a garden.

    Your thoughts are the seeds.

    You can grow flowers or

    You can grow weeds...

    Little did we know it at the time, but this little poem was to have a profound affect both on our thought patterns as well as our Artworks.

    It started almost as a kind of game. We decided to make a real effort to watch our thoughts and see exactly what it was that we were planting in our own “Mind Gardens”. It was difficult at first, but gradually, we began to pay more and more attention to what thoughts were repeatedly flashing across our minds.

    How disturbing it was to discover that many of these “seeds” were extremely negative thoughts destined to grow patches of thorny thistles and stinging nettles in our daily lives!

    We gradually came to see how so many of the problems and difficulties we were encountering in our lives had their beginnings in the seeds of doubt, fear and anxiety that we were continually planting in our minds. 

    It does take effort, but like anything else it gets easier with practice, and the amazing thing is, as we became more and more aware of these negative thoughts we are able to say:

    “No! I will NOT plant this weed in the Garden of my Mind.”

    I will consciously choose to plant something better. The results are truly spectacular.

    When you start to consciously cultivate your own mind garden, you will truly be amazed at the changes which begin to happen in your life. Obstacles disappear, barriers fall away, and things that you once thought were either impossible or very far away will suddenly come into view.

    Any garden is an ongoing process. It’s not enough to just plant a single seed of happiness and then forget about it. Your frail little seedling would soon be choked by weeds. It is necessary to continuously pull out and throw away those weeds of fear, doubt and anxiety as soon as they appear. 

    Love, happiness and tranquility are all contagious. People who are continuously planting these seeds in their own minds are also planting them in other people’s. 

    Remember,

    Your mind is a garden.

    Your thoughts are the seeds.

    You can grow flowers or

    You can grow weeds... 

    So ask yourself, what are you going to grow in the glorious garden of your mind? May your life be filled with love, happiness and inspiration. 

    不久前，我和索芬于鄉間訪友，暫居在一個給客人住的小木屋里。木屋很是漂亮，四周果樹環繞，花開遍野，甚至還有幾只山羊在屋旁躑躅。屋門上幾行漆字，顏色鮮亮，字體流暢。寫的是：

    心如花園，思想為種。

    既得繁花，亦生野稗。

    當時我們不甚懂得這首小詩，但后來它卻給我們的思維模式與藝術作品帶來了深遠的影響。

    剛開始的時候幾乎就像一場游戲。我們決定下一番真功夫去觀察自己的思想，把我們在自己“心園”里種下的東西看個真切。起初并不容易，但漸漸地，我們開始愈發關注在自己心中反復閃過的是何種思想。 

    當發現大多數的“思之種子”都是很負面的思想，注定要在我們的日常生活中長成一叢叢帶刺的野薊、蕁麻的時候，這是多么讓人煩惱啊！

    我們漸漸發現，我們在生活中遇到的諸多問題與困難，其源頭正是我們不斷在心中種下的疑惑、恐懼與焦慮的種子。

    這確是件費勁的事，但跟其他所有事一樣，它也是熟能生巧，令人驚異的是當我們越來越意識到這些負面的思想時，我們就能說：

    “不！我不會把這顆雜草種在我的心園。”

    我會有意識地去選擇，種一些更好的東西，收獲頗豐。

    當你開始有意識地去耕作自己的心園，生命中因此發生的改變會令你大為驚異。障礙消失了，隔閡不見了，你一度認為不可能或離你很遙遠的事情突然展現在你眼前。

    每一個花園都處在不斷變化之中。僅種下一顆幸福的種子，接著又拋之腦后是不行的。你那孱弱的秧苗很快就會被野稗吞噬。那些恐懼、疑惑與焦慮的野稗一長出來，就要持之以恒地把它們拔除扔掉。

    愛、幸福與寧靜都是有感染力的。那些在自己心園里不斷播種這些種子的人們，他們也會把愛、幸福與寧靜種到別人的心里去。

    請記住，

    心如花園，思想為種。

    既得繁花，亦生野稗。

    故而問問自己，你會在自己絢麗的心園里種些什么呢？愿你的生活充滿愛、幸福與靈感。