Mindfulness Is About Pulling Weeds — 7 Steps to More Mindful and Intentional Yard Work

Mindfulness. It’s about being present. About being in the moment. About being right here, right now.

It’s about weeds.

So, I had to pull some weeds in the yard the other day. It’s that time of year, apparently! The weeds do what they do, and I do what I do. Weeding the yard is a task full of drudgery, but I don’t really want to spray (yuck!). So, what do I do? I get down on my hands and knees and just go for it. I didn’t relish the thought of doing it, but I decided to try something different this time. Something mindful. Here are the seven steps to mindfulness in the context of pulling weeds:

1. I identified the task at hand (identification)
2. I made a conscious decision to do the task mindfully (intention)
3. I pulled the first weed, trying to concentrate only on that weed (mindfulness)
4. I (inevitably) got distracted (acceptance)
5. I re-set my focus and intention and moved on to the next weed (resignation)
6. I repeated the process over and over (repetition)
7. I went inside the house and moved on with my life — ready to have the next moment (release!)

There it is, folks. Seven steps to mindful yard work. After one hour, I had a good pile of weeds and a good pile of distracted thoughts to sort through. After one hour and one minute, I had ibuprofen in me. So, overall, I guess you could say it was a good afternoon.

But here’s the thing. I found the task wasn’t as annoying as I thought. In fact, having mindfulness as my companion made the pulling weeks more…I donno…interesting? Exciting? I know those aren’t words that we generally find in connection with mindfulness or meditation, but how I feel is how I feel!

As we say in The Nobody Bible: everything in an ordinary day has the stuff of growth. Anything can be a tool for transformation. What’s one task you have to do today that you feel could lead to growth?

J. A. Plosker

Writer – Coach – Teacher

I’m a self-discovery and spiritual growth coach and the multi-award-winning author of two books on personal and spiritual growth. I’m currently offering a free mindfulness Quickstart guide to help you begin or invigorate your journey with mindfulness. For more, connect with me on Instagram or visit my YouTube Channel.