Once someone asked me how a gardener tells the difference between weeds and plants. My reply was that anything the gardener does not want growing in the garden is a weed. In other words, the definition of a weed depends on the outlook of the gardener!

There's an obvious correlation between weeding a garden and keeping our own thought free from unwelcome intrusions. Sometimes, when things are going well, the good, constructive thoughts predominate. At other times wrong thoughts take hold and crowd out everything else.

In terms of our mental "gardens," the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippians tells us very specifically the kind of thoughts we need to cultivate: "Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."

All day long, every waking moment, no matter what we are doing, we either cultivate or dismiss a wide array of thoughts. If we are alert, we will use Paul's criteria and reject every thought that is not true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report. In other words, we reject every thought that isn't of God, good.

This can be a daunting task, but when we fail to cultivate good, spiritual thoughts on a regular basis and to root out of consciousness everything else, we are like the apathetic gardener who simply lets the weeds come in and take over. One of the biggest challenges a gardener can face comes as the result of neglect. And sometimes, when we have neglected our mental gardens, clearing out "weeds" such as fear or depression or hatred or self-pity can seem like an almost impossible task.

Certainly it will be that way if we approach this task from a purely human standpoint. Positive thinking—just thinking good human thoughts—isn't enough. Christ Jesus pointed the way when he taught us that all power and intelligence come from God, the divine Mind. He told his disciples that, of himself, he could do nothing, but that through God's power he could accomplish all good. He emphasized that this power did not belong exclusively to him, but it could be demonstrated by all who were willing to follow his example in their daily lives. No wonder the apostle admonishes, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus."

Christian Science helps us to understand that the divine Mind, God, is the source of all right thinking. As we recognize that in our true, spiritual identity we are the expressions of this Mind, we see that God's goodness is the only true power governing our lives and our thinking. This power was demonstrated in the healing works of Christ Jesus, and it is present today to help and to heal us.

The human consciousness is evangelized as we comprehend our true heritage as the expression of God's goodness and love. Through this process it becomes more and more natural for us to reject the false concepts of ourselves and others and to cherish what is true, seeing ourself and others as God's spiritual image and likeness.

Sometimes gardeners find that certain weeds grow so close to the good plants or are so similar in appearance that it is difficult to tell them apart. Christ Jesus described this situation in his parable of the tares and the wheat.

He told about a farmer who sowed good seed in his field, but while he was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares, a kind of weed. When the wheat sprang up, the tares appeared also, and his servants wanted to pull them up right away. But the farmer told them that now was not the time to gather up the tares because they might uproot the wheat, too. "Let both grow together," he said, "until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn."

As we mature spiritually and gain a deeper understanding of our relationship to God and His spiritual universe, the "tares" in our thinking become much more apparent and easier to weed out. As Mrs. Eddy explains in Science and Health: "The temporal and unreal never touch the eternal and real. The mutable and imperfect never touch the immutable and perfect. The inharmonious and self-destructive never touch the harmonious and self-existent. These opposite qualities are the tares and wheat, which never really mingle, though (to mortal sight) they grow side by side until the harvest; then, Science separates the wheat from the tares, through the realization of God as ever present and of man as reflecting the divine likeness."

We may discover that it takes a good deal of effort to root out some mental "weeds." The gardener sometimes has to use a trowel or even a shovel to dig out the big weeds with the deepest roots. A wise gardener knows that unless this extra effort is given to the task, this type of weed will just keep coming back, growing bigger and spreading until eventually it could take over the entire garden.

I faced a situation like this in connection with a problem at work. The "weeds" of defensiveness, reaction, and the desire to control had been growing deep roots in my consciousness for many years. I knew they were there, but I carelessly ignored them until an extremely difficult situation arose that challenged me to face up to the fact that I had to start digging them out.

At work I was accused of not properly supervising a person and program for which I was responsible. The accusation was partly true—I had known about the problem but had failed to address it in a timely manner. However, I also knew there were extenuating circumstances that had not been taken into consideration, so I reacted with a great deal of anger, defensiveness, self-righteousness, and self-justification—as I had time and time again whenever I felt my work was being unfairly criticized.

Fortunately, this incident was reported to me when I was taking a few days' vacation. So I had time to do some praying once the initial emotional turmoil had subsided. I realized it was time to dig deeply into consciousness. I had to face up to and start rooting out some "weeds" I knew didn't belong there.

First, I had to stop seeing myself as a poor mortal struggling with defensiveness and a sense of injustice and self-justification. I had to see myself as the child of God, with my every thought and action governed totally by His law of goodness and justice.

Second, instead of trying to exert control over the situation myself by thinking about various scenarios that might resolve it, I had to entrust the entire situation humbly and completely to the government of God, who is divine Principle.

This was an enormous struggle for me, because the negative thoughts seemed so firmly rooted. Several times when I thought they had been completely removed, they would sprout up again and have to be rooted out once more. But I persisted, and by the time I returned to work, I was mentally calm, totally trusting the government of divine Principle to guide everyone in the proper way to solve the problem so that all would be blessed. I found myself saying things and doing things I never could have planned. Everyone else was calm, also, and very quickly the entire situation was resolved to everyone's satisfaction.

This taught me a very important lesson. I realized that we cannot allow ourselves to become complacent and neglect the mental weeding process that needs to go on daily. Every day we need to claim the spiritual perceptiveness and alertness that belong to man as the expression of the divine Mind, God. We need to nourish and cultivate the good in our thinking and be persistent about rooting out everything else.

As we go about our mental weeding, we can be encouraged by these words of Mrs. Eddy in Pulpit and Press: "Know, then, that you possess sovereign power to think and act rightly, and that nothing can dispossess you of this heritage and trespass on Love."

JEREMIAH

I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Jeremiah 29:11