Do you ever feel like your life is so jam-packed with good things that you never get around to the best things?

I sure do. In fact, I’m convinced there are times to reevaluate what is most important and then prune away non-essential activities so our God-given talents can blossom.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately as I prune my roses. You prune roses down to 3-5 canes. This expands the root system, which results in abundant blooms in spring and summer!

I like pruning my roses because it feels good to ruthlessly cut off all but the main canes. Maybe it’s because my life needs pruning. So I figured if pruning is good for roses, why not for us humans? Here are the main canes I’ve decided to keep and nurture:

#1 Follow a healthy living plan. My boss, Stephanie, suggested this to our department and we all got on board. We get points for positives. Here’s a few examples:

• Eat 5 smaller meals a day to keep your metabolism working.
• Walk 20 minutes a day. Stephanie explained that if it’s just 20 it’s doable as opposed to setting a goal too high and then rationalizing, “I don’t have time for my hour walk so I’m not going to exercise today.” So far I’ve walked more than I have in months.
• Start a healthy habit…mine is #2 listed below.

#2 Do something creative every day!!!! My sis joined me in this challenge and made an astute observation (my paraphrase): “I had it backwards. I thought I had to get everything done before I could take the time to create but now I see that I need creativity to have the energy and inspiration to do everything else!”

#3 Stay connected with God and others. My team at work encourages each other daily. So Gina and I came up with our own kind of connectedness. We send our artwork in progress to one another and remind each other to do something creative every day. She’s got an amazing pen and ink in process, and I’ve started a new acrylic painting. We are both amazed at how happy and motivated we feel.

Most importantly, I try to stay connected to the Lord, starting my mornings with time to listen, read something spiritually inspiring, and surrender my will in hopes I can discover His.

So if you’ve been down in the dull drums, try to prune down your busy life to your most important canes. I guarantee you’ll be glad you did. I invite you to leave a comment so I can encourage you!

*You can buy Etherial Rose on my Fine Art America Store.