For you avid gardeners out there, you understand the necessity of pruning trees and shrubs, taking off the dead wood to get the greatest beauty in your yard or garden. For certain species and in certain climates, there is a right time and a wrong time to remove dead wood from a tree. Often times I have wondered, if the tree could speak, would it be pleased with the pruning or would it be fearful and beg to be left alone. It is truly the best thing for the tree in order for it to live into its potential.

In life we all experience seasons or times when dead wood needs to be removed from our tree of life. Most often we can’t fathom pruning it ourselves. The branches may be dead but they’re ours, they’re familiar, they are safe. They may be ugly parts of our lives, they may be useless, they may actually be making us sick. But the fear of taking off these parts may keep our tree intact as more and more of it slowly dies off. And then sometimes life does the pruning for us in the form of what we consider to be loss. Later in life we often experience these things as life changing events that lead us to something better.

What needs pruning on your tree? Are there relationships that are harmful, damaging or outright dangerous? Do you have one that needs to be taken off your tree of life? Or perhaps it’s the job you do that sucks the life out of you? Can you find your joy and passion there, or does that need trimming? Is it your home? If you live with clutter you may feel psychologically cluttered up and choked. Do you need to remove that from your tree of life? Perhaps it’s your self sabotaging negative talk. You know what I mean, the “you are stupid” or “you are fat” comments. Are you prepared to get rid of that to watch your tree of life thrive?

We are not here to live a life of struggle, sadness, misery, fear. If that’s where you are in your life, can you believe that you can change this? Are you ready to take off the dead wood that is holding you back from becoming everything you can be?

Now sometimes removal of a branch isn’t required, just a little trimming. Perhaps there is a relationship that doesn’t need removal, but needs a little trimming, a little working together to create something more beautiful. Have the courage to love yourself enough to know you deserve this!

Take off the dead wood and watch your life unfold more beautifully than you could have imagined!