Weeding the Garden of Our Mind and 'Bye Bye Paparazzi!'

Two metaphors that can help us block out toxic influences and stay true to ourselves

This young broccoli plant is having trouble thriving because the surrounding weeds are competing for its nutrients. Photo by author.

Our soul is a garden. Toxic words of criticism, judgment and contempt are weeds. You’ve got to stay vigilant and remove them constantly, or else your flowers and veggies won’t thrive.

This is tedious work. You need to get d…