Do you have a compost pile or compost bin in your garden?
Composting is part of a natural cycle where nothing is wasted. Leaves, grass clippings, and kitchen waste become transformed into rich new soil. Apple parings, onion skins, last week's leftovers, vegetables that have gone bad in the refrigerator—all go into the compost bin. No apologies. They're part of the larger process of transformation, turning remnants of the past into better tomorrows.
In an examined life, everything can be compost. Our mistakes, old habits we'd like to break—instead of dwelling on these, we can compost them. Becoming more mindful, we can ask, "What can I learn from this?" and turn any negative experience into a new cycle of wisdom and growth.
If you'd like to try this process of composting, please join me in this brief reflective exercise. You'll need a small piece of paper and a pencil or pen.
- First close your eyes or shift them into a gentle downward gaze.
- Then breathe in, focusing on your heart and slowly breathe out. You can put your hand on your heart if you like.
- As you continue this slow heart-focused breathing, take another deep breath and slowly release it.
- Now think of something in your life you'd like to compost—an old habit you'd like to break, a negative experience that keeps nagging at you, something you did that you regret.
- Focusing on your heart, take a deep mindful breath and slowly release it, saying to yourself "I'm composting this."
- Then gently open your eyes and write down what you're composting—"I compost (name it).
- Sign and date the paper and put it somewhere where you'll see it every day.
It takes time to break old habits so don't be discouraged. Whenever you find yourself falling back into the old pattern, stop and tell yourself, "I've composted that."
After one month, take that piece of paper, tear it up, and bury the pieces in the ground, adding your compost to the soil in this process of transformation and renewal.
I wish you joy in this process of renewal.