Direct your life
“A man sooner or later discovers that he is the master-gardener of his soul, the director of his life.”
— James Allen
Reflection
James Allen says that “a man sooner or later discovers that he is the master‑gardener of his soul, the director of his life.” That discovery can feel both thrilling and unsettling. It is easier to blame other people, the economy, or fate for the whole shape of our lives. But Allen insists that, under God, we are responsible for what we allow to grow inside us—and for the direction we give to our days.
You may not have chosen every seed that has been thrown into your inner garden. Pain, disappointment, and injustice plant things you never asked for. But you do choose what you water, what you prune, and what you dig up by the roots. That quiet work of tending your soul has more to do with the direction of your life than most of the circumstances you worry about.
Directing your life in Allen’s sense is not about controlling every outcome. It is about accepting that your thoughts, attitudes, and daily disciplines are steering you somewhere. If you continually indulge resentment, laziness, or self‑pity, you should not be surprised at the harvest. If you practice gratitude, diligence, and faith, you will eventually walk in a different field.
The moment you accept that you are the gardener and director—not the helpless passenger—something powerful shifts. You stop waiting for everything outside to line up and start working on the inside. That inner work does not guarantee an easy path, but it does guarantee a more purposeful one.
And that’s worth thinking about.
— Vic Johnson
Putting It Into Practice
- Identify one mental “weed” you have been allowing—such as resentment or self‑pity—and decide today to stop watering it.
- Choose one virtue you want to cultivate (like gratitude or diligence) and practice it in one small, concrete way.
- Ask yourself at the end of the day, “Did my thoughts and choices today steer my life in the direction I truly want to go?”
One Question To Ponder
If your life is a garden you are quietly tending, what have you been watering most with your daily thoughts and choices?
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