You Can't Just "Blow" it Away, You Have to "Suck" it Up!

I seem to be focusing on "leaf blowers" this past month!  Thank goodness for the snow yesterday as this will keep the "blowers" from irritating us all!  I wanted to discuss how "blowing" your yard waste around is kind of like how we don't handle issues in life and just keep pushing it around and around.  So...here it goes.

I constantly hear the sound of a leaf blower in my neighborhood and around town during my travels.  I notice how the operator just blows the clippings, leaves and other items out in the street, the neighbor's lawn, or whatever seems convenient.  Why don't the operators use the vacuum option and just "suck" up the waste and discard it?  I know there are those two options on these "leaf blowing" tools.  That is how we often approach our "trash" or issues in life.  We tend to just blow them around and expect everyone else to deal with it or clean it up for us.  It doesn't work as illustrated by one guy with his "leaf blower"!  He must use that thing at least twice a day in order to clean up the area around his house.  You see, the wind blows and just blows that stuff right back from where he blew it away.  What a waste of time and energy on his part as it becomes a never ending process....nothing gets accomplished!   All that is happening is that the "yard waste" just gets shuffled around and around until someone picks it up or nature eventually sends it far away.  The "trash" never gets dealt with and continues to irritate the "leaf blowing man".   We need to understand this illogical approach to cleaning up our "life issues" as well.  We can't just wish it or dream it away, we have to deal with it!  How do we deal with it?

The other option on a "leaf blower" is the vacuum option.  What happens with this option is that the leaves and other yard items get "sucked" up into the machine, mulched and distributed into the attached bag.  The operator then empties the bag as it gets full into a yard receptacle and then continues until the "yard waste" has been cleaned up.  How simple is that?  Well, that can be accomplished in our own lives as we deal with difficult relationships, issues, obstacles...what have you.  You need to deal with the conflict right away.  I don't mean that you go in and "grind" everybody up with your new found idea, but that you go in with some simple strategy and "clean" up the mess.  Whenever we are faced with a conflict, the longer we "blow" it off and not deal with it the bigger it becomes.  Just "blowing" the leaves around doesn't reduce the waste, only allows for more waste to accumulate.  This is exactly what happens when we don't deal with a conflict.  We push it around, share it with others, get more people involved, spend time self-medicating and hoping it goes away, and more!  Stop!  Turn the "blower" to the "suction" mode and begin to deal with it!  Be honest in your approach and find ways to calmly clean up the "mess".  But how?

Start your approach by figuring out what "issues" really exist.  We create most if not all of our issues in life!  How big is the "pile" that is before you?  What have you added that you can clean up first in order to reduce the conflict?  Admit your own part in the issue and "suck" it up first.  Take responsibility and then begin to decide how you will approach the other "trash" left behind by someone else.  Your approach is going to determine how difficult of a time you have!  Be positive and turn the "vacuum" on low.  Don't rush in and try to pick it up all at once!  Take a few pieces at a time and constantly empty the "bag".

Your relationships in life are simple if you allow yourself to make mistakes and move on!  Need some help in this part of your "yard"?  Please contact me through my website at www.thetajlgroup.com, via email at thetaljgroup@gmail.com and listen to our radio show at www.blogtalkradio.com/jeffreylund "Mastering Life's Simplicity"   I want to help you help yourself and others in this world!