Cutting back to bloom

Recently, I've struggled with what direction the next phase of my life should take. I look back and see what I wanted to do but never did. I look forward and see all the wonderful and exciting paths I can take, and get overwhelmed by which to choose. This morning after a quick walk in my garden I glanced over into my neighbors yard and Spirit once again gave me a nudge in the right direction. You see we are about to get a privacy fence installed on our driveway, but before that can happen we were required to clean out the fence line. My elderly neighbor who was once an avid gardener has not been able to maintain her small rose beds, and they have become completely over grown. With her permission my husband and I pulled out years of weeds and overgrowth. My neighbor came out and expressed her gratitude for the help. She began to tell me about the huge rose bush that was at least fifty years old. This poor rose was tied with strings to an old clothesline post. I could tell it meant much to her, so after she went in I started to prune out the dead wood. I  trimmed out the weak branches and cut it back in the appropriate spots. That was about five weeks ago. Well this morning I noticed that it is loaded with blooms, in about a week it will be spectacular! This brings me back to my original thought. In order to bloom I too must clean out the deadwood. I have so many items and projects that haunt me, that I'm unable to bloom. It's difficult to let go of dreams that never quite made it to fruition and hobbies that I always thought I'd get back into. But it's time to look at what really makes me soul sing and bid a fond farewell to the past. I'm reminded of the Mary Engelbreit painting "Don't Look Back" it says it all. So, as I begin my sixth year, I realize it's not too late, if I cut back then I can still BLOOM!