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Please relax - get situated in your chair so that you are comfortable. Uncross your legs, place your hands in your lap and close your eyes. Take a deep breath in and hold it for just a second and then slowly release it. As you release it, just relax. Just be here in the moment and not think or worry about anything that is outside of this room. Take another deep breath and hold it - now as you release it, just sink back in your chair and feel totally and completely relaxed.
I want you to see yourself outside on a bright summer day. The weather is perfect - not to hot, just right with a cool breeze blowing. It is the perfect day for gardening. The lawn looks a little high and the weeds seem out of control, so you go to your shed to get out your riding lawnmower. You begin to mow the grass creating perfect paths up and down the yard. Continue to mow and just enjoy the warm weather and the contentment you are feeling.
As you're mowing up one row of grass and then down the next row, you realize that the rows with tall grass are like your life. The tall grass blocks your spirit and the weeds are like the negative energy that you must fight every day. You continue to mow as you think about this - what can you do in your life, to “mow down the tall grass and weeds?”
As you are mowing, you realize that your yard requires constant maintenance to keep up with it. If you don't take care of it, it will become an overgrown field. Your life also requires your constant attention. If you don't take care of yourself, body and spirit - you will become a sponge for negativity. So take a few minutes to “mow your spirit” - release the negativity and hurts that you are holding on to. If you can't release them, see yourself “mowing them down” to a size where you can release them.
Now, let's take a few moments to “pull the weeds” out of your life. Just like the weeds growing next to the flowers in your garden, the weeds in your life are anything that chokes you and keeps you from achieving your highest dreams. You might consider the weeds in your life to be a bad habit, negative people or personal faults. So take the next few moments to weed your spirit. Clean it up and throw the weeds into the trash bag of the universe and release them forever.
Once again I want you to see yourself on the riding lawn mower. You've completed mowing your yard and you are taking a moment to survey its neatness. The yard looks great, the flower beds are pristine and you are feeling great about it. Give yourself a pat on the back for your hard work today. And then think about your spirit and the work you've done on it. Just like your yard, you'll have to mow it again next week, and the week after, and the week after that. But with the constant attention to it - you'll be able to maintain your life and spirit with the love and honor it deserves.
Take a few moments now to start coming back. When you are ready, open your eyes, take a deep breath and stretch.
We'll now sing the alleluia after which we'll take a few minutes to prepare our prayers and offerings.
Alleluia.
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