I just came in from outside where I was wrestling with the demon leaf blower. I am sure some of you who live where the seasons behave as we learned they would in elementary school wonder why a leaf blower is required in May. Well, we are fortunate to have a massive mesquite tree that towers above our house, and beautiful Oleander bushes that line our backyard. It has already hit 100 degrees several times in the last few months, so those bushes and that tree have had the same response you and I would...shed your extra layers and let go of the weight of pollen and blossoms. Gallons of needles and yellow pollen from the mesquite tree cover our yard every day. And there I was, trying to beat the heat in the early morning wielding the @#!* blower thing and trying to appear proficient as neighbors passed by with friendly waves (grrr...).

So, you can probably sense I didn't have a lighthearted approach to this task. I was hurried, harried, getting tangled up in extension cords that were too short and then too long and then coming apart. And then, just when I'd hit my stride, the cord would come unattached from the blower in spite of the nifty holder that promises a secure connection. None of it was really that bad, and in less than an hour and a half, I was all done. What is pathetic is the way I spent that hour and a half mentally.

When I am frustrated with myself, my inner conversations take on a tone and vocabulary you would expect to find in a seedy bar in a seaport; not in the mind of the purveyor of positive thinking! I would love to see a video of my expression at these moments...well not really. I'm sure my forehead earns an extra crease from the scowling and my stomach earns an extra knot form my angry internal diatribe about my incompetent management of lawn equipment. No one in my entire life (I am blessed) ever talked to me the way I talk to myself.

Maybe none of you ever waste your time in such negative activities. I must say, I'm getting better at spotting them and eliminating the choke hold such episodes can have on my spirit. But why do we go there in the first place? It's just yard work. It's just a piece of equipment. But in a hurry and with a million other things on our hearts, we sometimes kick ourselves around. Even when we make simple mistakes at work, or spill the coffee at home, our inner critic springs into action to let us know that we screwed up again!

Let's work together to silence the inner critics. I didn't completely miss out on the beauty of the morning, and I am still able to see ability and beauty in me. But I lost an hour. Some of us lose years. If your inner critic is the only voice you hear, please, please get help. You are meant to be loved and honored...by yourself most importantly. You should find delight in your own company and joy in the things you do—big and small. And the words and the tone of voice you use in the conversations you have with your self should be ones of encouragement and reassurance.

Happy talk, keep talking happy talk....maybe some of you can sing along with that line from the musical South Pacific. Maybe the voices with which we address ourselves should be cast right out of Broadway musicals and then we truly would have songs in our hearts instead of self-doubt and criticism.

Take the steps today to be gentle with yourself, even—and most importantly—when you think you don't deserve it. Take a deep breath. Look up. Stand tall. Gently wrap your arms around yourself in a loving embrace and let the words to yourself be "I can do this!" And then do just do it! Do it with joy, love and the intention of planting seeds of goodness all around you!