Today we ask that you be good stewards to the gift of life that has been given you.

Every one of you is infinitely precious.  Most of you do not believe or feel this, yet it is so.

The life each of you possesses is like a garden.  You are each given a little piece of ground to work with.  No two gardens are alike.  Each one comes with different soil, different seeds, and a different climate.

But every garden has the potential to be very beautiful.  Seeds must be planted and watered.  Weeds must be pulled.  You must shine light on your garden, and make sure that it is loved and nurtured.

Every human life is like this.  Every infant born is like this.  No two gardens are alike.

Yet it is universally true for all gardens that they increase in health and beauty proportionate to the love and care that is given them.  

It may be that your own parents did not know how to best love and nurture you, in all likelihood because their own parents did not know how to best love and nurture them.  There is a great deal of confusion in your world, so there’s no use blaming anyone.

Right now, you have a garden.  The garden that is You.  And no matter how you were parented, this garden is all yours now.  Maybe it is a bit dry and weedy.  Maybe it could do with some watering and tending.  The point is, work with what you have right now at this moment.  There’s no use wishing you had a different garden.  This is the one that is yours.

Be a good steward to your garden.  Take care of your body.  Exercise it, and feed it nourishing food.  Let it rest, and relax.  The body houses the mind.  It is the soil in which the mind rests.  If you want your mind to flourish, it is good to start with the body.  Seeds will not grow if the soil is too dry and hard.  Tending the body is like moistening and aerating the soil.

All that you wish to do in this lifetime — these are your seeds.  Some may already be planted, some you may have yet to plant.  If you wish these seeds to grow into strong plants, you must tend the soil well.  The soil is You.  That is why it is essential to be loving and nurturing with yourself.  Every gardener knows that there is a great deal of love and care that goes into a beautiful garden.

Do not expect to transform your garden all at once.  Do not become paralyzed or disheartened because it seems like too big a task.  Just start somewhere.  Take one little corner of the garden, and work with that.  All beautiful things are created little by little, piece by piece.  They do not appear all at once.

The main thing is just to do a little bit every day.  In this way, all seeds sprout.  A little every day, with water, light, and good soil.

Tend yourself like a garden.  Be good stewards of the gift of life.