{"id":1468,"date":"2018-02-11T01:10:10","date_gmt":"2018-02-11T01:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/?p=1468"},"modified":"2018-02-11T01:10:10","modified_gmt":"2018-02-11T01:10:10","slug":"composting-old-habits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/2018\/02\/11\/composting-old-habits\/","title":{"rendered":"Composting Old Habits"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/files\/2018\/02\/20180210_164402.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-1470\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/files\/2018\/02\/20180210_164402-300x180.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"180\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/files\/2018\/02\/20180210_164402-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/files\/2018\/02\/20180210_164402-768x461.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/files\/2018\/02\/20180210_164402.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Today I cleaned out the compost bin, discovering that what had once been banana peels, vegetable parings and coffee grounds had become like potting soil\u2014dark brown, crumbly, rich with nutrients. With my old garden shovel, I loaded two loads of compost in my red wheelbarrow and spread it under the redwood tree.<\/p>\n<p>As a reminder of nature\u2019s transformational powers, even in the depths of winter, the compost bin is a metaphor for personal renewal. For in an examined life, everything is compost&#8211;unhappy memories, prior mistakes, habits we\u2019d like to break, patterns we\u2019ve outgrown.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of dwelling on negative experiences, we can compost them. Asking, \u201cWhat can I learn from this?\u201d accepting the lesson, and then moving on can turn a negative experience into a new cycle of wisdom and growth.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Do you have an old pattern\u2014a painful memory of disappointment, regret or resentment, a mistake you made or a habit you\u2019d like to break?<\/li>\n<li>If so, you can compost it.<\/li>\n<li>First, write down the pattern on an index card or slip of paper: \u201cI compost __________(name it).\u201d Then sign and date the card.<\/li>\n<li>For one month, look at the card each morning and say to yourself, \u201cI compost____,\u201d stating what you\u2019ve chosen to compost.<\/li>\n<li>Breaking old habits takes time, so don\u2019t lose heart. When you find yourself falling back into the old pattern, stop and tell yourself, \u201cI\u2019ve composted that.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>At the end of the month, take the card, tear it up, and bury the pieces in the ground, adding your compost to the soil. Nature will do the rest.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In composting, the past circles back to transform the present and enrich the future as you participate in ongoing \u00a0cycles of hope and renewal.<\/p>\n<p>Namaste,<\/p>\n<p>Diane<\/p>\n<p><strong>Reference<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For an earlier account of composting and more lessons about gardening and spiritual practice, see Dreher, D. (2002). <em>Inner Gardening: A Seasonal Path to Inner Peace. \u00a0<\/em>New York: HarperCollinsQuill.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today I cleaned out the compost bin, discovering that what had once been banana peels, vegetable parings and coffee grounds had become like potting soil\u2014dark brown, crumbly, rich with nutrients. With my old garden shovel, I loaded two loads of &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/2018\/02\/11\/composting-old-habits\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"qubely_global_settings":"","qubely_interactions":"","kk_blocks_editor_width":"","_kiokenblocks_attr":"","_kiokenblocks_dimensions":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-insights-from-positive-psychology","category-spiritual-practice"],"gutentor_comment":0,"qubely_featured_image_url":null,"qubely_author":{"display_name":"writeherewritenow","author_link":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/author\/writeherewritenow\/"},"qubely_comment":0,"qubely_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/category\/insights-from-positive-psychology\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Insights from Positive Psychology<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/category\/spiritual-practice\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Spiritual Practice<\/a>","qubely_excerpt":"Today I cleaned out the compost bin, discovering that what had once been banana peels, vegetable parings and coffee grounds had become like potting soil\u2014dark brown, crumbly, rich with nutrients. With my old garden shovel, I loaded two loads of &hellip; Continue reading &rarr;","post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1468"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1468\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1471,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1468\/revisions\/1471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}