Plants are good life lesson teachers if you are open to the lessons. I’ve cultivated a small jungle in my home for the past six or seven years. My collection started with one spider plant and I maxed out at about 83 plants. Sounds impressive, right? It was not. Watering and caring for that many plants is overwhelming. Especially if you are not watering or caring for yourself.
My collection now sits comfortably under 35 plants and 20 propagations. The first lesson I learned from plants is to only keep what brings you joy.
Similar to plants, jobs and the “ships” (relation-, friend-, situation-) can bring joy and unnecessary stress. I no longer keep or entertain what is not meant for me. The seasonal nature of the “ships” is something I have explored for the past 15 years. Instead of beating myself up when one comes to a natural end, I show myself abundant grace and I ask a few questions:
Did you grow from this?
What did you learn?
Is it truly time to let it go or live to fight another day?
Did you have fun?
It is natural to find fault in yourself when things end, but what would happen if you chose to see the blessing in the endings? You can’t get to what is meant for you if you are clinging to what is dead.
Another lesson from plants is the seasonality of their existence. Annuals tend to serve one purpose: they show out for a few months, then go out in a blaze of glory at the end of their season. They had fun while they were here and now they must go. Granted, there are annuals that make a surprise comeback in the right conditions (like a snapdragon), but that isn’t the norm or their purpose. Cuffing season (which is currently upon us), is similar.
For those unfamiliar with cuffing season, it’s the period during autumn and winter months when singletons find themselves desiring to enter into a romantic relationship and be “cuffed.” Like annual plants, these cuffed relationships aren’t meant to last forever, but the occasional season can be extended based on feelings. Understanding the purpose of these seasonal relationships up front, can spare a lot of hurt feelings when it is over.
Might I remind you, when Spring is upon us, new plants and people can be, too. 😉 All is not lost, conduct yourself accordingly, and may the odds forever be in your favor.