RELATIONSHIPS
Why We Need to Prune Our Relationships Like a Rose Bush
And how to nurture what remains
We can learn a lot from a rose bush. Roses are gentle yet sturdy. They have thorns for protection and vibrant flowers to attract birds and bees. Roses respond favorably to pruning. They let go of what they don’t need, then they grow stronger and more beautiful.
Rose pruning is an appropriate metaphor for cultivating healthy relationships. Remove what no longer serves you, and you’ll thrive. Why hold onto anything that’s withering away? It’ll just sap your energy and leave you listless and stale.
When we hold onto old ideas about ourselves or won’t let go of another person, we stunt our growth. Our proverbial leaves turn brown, and we invite disease into our bodies.
Do you ever feel like you can’t breathe when you revisit your painful past relationship? Is the truth hard to swallow? Have you noticed the same old pattern resurfacing over and over again? That’s what it’s like for us when we don’t regularly prune ourselves.
I’ve been watching a rose bush that lives at the foot of our apartment stairs and recently got an intense urge to prune her. I knew she was getting too crowded and needed her dead blooms cut. My neighbor is the landscaper but doesn’t…
