Another lesson from my vines.
What you can’t see in the first photo is that the vine is severely infested with spider mites.
Nasty life-sucking parasites that can bring total destruction and devastation to the green life that continues to grow despite the insidious danger.
So while I’m spraying down every inch of my creeper with a soapy solution to eradicate the nasties, I am once again struck with the similarity that the infestation has to our lives.
The mites are all those negative emotions, the negative self-talk, the destructive behaviours that we have. If not eliminated, or at the very least, held in check, they will destroy us mentally, physically, emotionally and/or spiritually.
We all have mites.
Okay, maybe not ALL of us….but I’d say a LOT of us.
Nasty, niggling, self-doubts. Judgments. Despair. Unworthiness. Low self-esteem. Fear. Hopelessness. Apathy. Worry.
Shall I go on?
These are only a few of my own life-sucking mites.
It seems I am forever off and on a journey of self-discovery and healing and spiritual growth. I am still learning, and am far from knowing all the answers!
Sometimes, when I’ve been off the path for too long, I come to a realisation that, in the meantime, I have developed a severe infestation of negative mites. (Actually, sometimes that’s the reason I stray. It’s denial and lack of desire or strength to face them.)
The sheer number of them can often be overwhelming. And while it is MUCH easier to ignore them, or deal with them ‘later’, the fact remains that they will continue to get stronger or increase, if left unchecked, or unexamined, and recovery will be more difficult.
The mites on my vine suck the life-blood of the plant and cause it to shrivel and wither, and eventually die.
Negative thoughts and emotions will do the same to us by sucking our life-blood of joy and happiness from us.
For me, I have to be constantly vigilant with the creeper. I staved off an infestation a few weeks ago, and then thought all was well, and forgot to check daily. Before I knew it, the mites were back and with a vengeance.
In my life, I have to be equally vigilant. Spiritual and emotional growth takes work. Sometimes it’s really hard work. It is definitely constant work. Something I must remember as I work on facing, acknowledging and then eliminating the negative mites from my life.
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