GREEN WISDOM FRIDAYS: GROWING THROUGH LIFE
Welcome to the first edition of Green Wisdom Fridays, where we explore life lessons inspired by our leafy friends. Every Friday, I’ll share stories from the garden and life, digging into themes like patience, resilience, and personal growth. Plants have a lot to teach us, and hopefully, these posts can help you grow a little, too. So, let’s kick off this week’s theme: PATIENCE
Take my Bird of Paradise plant, for example. 2 years ago I got her in a FB group sale for $25. Her size and age can make them cost over $100. She stands at a glorious 6 ½ feet tall now, but she hasn’t always had it easy. At the beginning of this year, she got infected with scale insects (a common type of bug that will suck the life out of your plant leaves). Some might have given up and tossed her out (by some I mean me). Almost did. My husband started to get attached to my plants and requested sweetly that I take the time to rehab her. I started researching how to treat her and spent weeks cleaning her leaves and checking for spread. It wasn’t easy, but she rewarded my patience with two new giant leaves! The scale isn’t completely gone, but she’s thriving—and that’s enough for me. Now, she holds an even more meaningful place in my living room and heart after my husband past away 2 months ago. She is a reminder of what truly being patient means at our home. Taking our time, one minute at a time.
Let me grab some tissues, real quick.
A Story of Patience: Parenting Through Understanding
Patience isn’t just for plants, though—it’s something I practice every day with my teenage son. Now, raising a 15-year-old is like nurturing a plant with unique needs. He’s figuring out who he is and what he believes, and I’m doing my best to support him without imposing my own expectations. It’s a process, for both of us.
Just like with my Bird of Paradise, I’ve had to remind myself that growth takes time. He’s learning to navigate his emotions and make sense of the world, and I’m learning right alongside him. It’s about giving him space to grow at his own pace, while being there to guide him when needed. And honestly, he’s teaching me a lot about patience and understanding in the process.
For more tips on mindful parenting, check out this insightful post from HGTV:
Tips to Be a More Patient Plant Parent- helpful tips
Image Credit: Pexels
The Lesson: Growth Takes Time
So, what can we learn from this? Patience is key, both in plant care and in life. Whether you’re waiting for your plant to sprout a new leaf or supporting a loved one through their personal growth, the process is what matters. Those small, everyday efforts add up to something beautiful over time.
I've been reading Dr. Weiss's book: Many Lives, Masters where his approach to patience goes with this. Everything in life has perfect timing and if we try to rush it, this could interfere with seeing the value of the process.
Sometimes, it feels like we should have everything figured out immediately—whether it’s our careers, relationships, or hobbies. But the truth is, most of the best things in life take time to develop. So, next time you’re feeling rushed or frustrated, remember: your plants aren’t in a hurry, and neither should you be.
What’s Coming Up in Green Wisdom Fridays?
Every Friday, I’ll be sharing more life lessons from the garden. We’ll explore themes like resilience, adaptability, and even letting go. Plants may be quiet, but they have a lot to teach us about how to grow—both in the garden and in life. And who knows? Maybe these posts will inspire you to look at your plants a little differently, too.
Join the Conversation!
I’d love to hear your thoughts! Have you learned any life lessons from your plants?
How do you practice patience in your own life, whether with your loved ones, your hobbies, or yourself?
Share your stories in the comments below or tag me on social media using #GreenWisdomFridays.
Let’s grow together!
PS. If you end up reading Many Lives Many Masters, I highly suggest Only Love is Real: A Story of Soulmates It talks a bit more about patience and many other great disciplines we all have to work on to connect to the creator.
The Patience Problem: The Age of Instant Gratification
We live in a world that demands quick results. Need something? You can have it delivered by tomorrow. Want to be entertained? There’s endless content at your fingertips. But not everything in life can or should be instant. Some things, like personal growth or caring for a plant, take time and patience—two things that seem to be in short supply these days.Take my Bird of Paradise plant, for example. 2 years ago I got her in a FB group sale for $25. Her size and age can make them cost over $100. She stands at a glorious 6 ½ feet tall now, but she hasn’t always had it easy. At the beginning of this year, she got infected with scale insects (a common type of bug that will suck the life out of your plant leaves). Some might have given up and tossed her out (by some I mean me). Almost did. My husband started to get attached to my plants and requested sweetly that I take the time to rehab her. I started researching how to treat her and spent weeks cleaning her leaves and checking for spread. It wasn’t easy, but she rewarded my patience with two new giant leaves! The scale isn’t completely gone, but she’s thriving—and that’s enough for me. Now, she holds an even more meaningful place in my living room and heart after my husband past away 2 months ago. She is a reminder of what truly being patient means at our home. Taking our time, one minute at a time.
Let me grab some tissues, real quick.
A Story of Patience: Parenting Through Understanding
Patience isn’t just for plants, though—it’s something I practice every day with my teenage son. Now, raising a 15-year-old is like nurturing a plant with unique needs. He’s figuring out who he is and what he believes, and I’m doing my best to support him without imposing my own expectations. It’s a process, for both of us.
Just like with my Bird of Paradise, I’ve had to remind myself that growth takes time. He’s learning to navigate his emotions and make sense of the world, and I’m learning right alongside him. It’s about giving him space to grow at his own pace, while being there to guide him when needed. And honestly, he’s teaching me a lot about patience and understanding in the process.
For more tips on mindful parenting, check out this insightful post from HGTV:
Tips to Be a More Patient Plant Parent- helpful tips
Image Credit: Pexels
The Lesson: Growth Takes Time
So, what can we learn from this? Patience is key, both in plant care and in life. Whether you’re waiting for your plant to sprout a new leaf or supporting a loved one through their personal growth, the process is what matters. Those small, everyday efforts add up to something beautiful over time.
I've been reading Dr. Weiss's book: Many Lives, Masters where his approach to patience goes with this. Everything in life has perfect timing and if we try to rush it, this could interfere with seeing the value of the process.
Sometimes, it feels like we should have everything figured out immediately—whether it’s our careers, relationships, or hobbies. But the truth is, most of the best things in life take time to develop. So, next time you’re feeling rushed or frustrated, remember: your plants aren’t in a hurry, and neither should you be.
What’s Coming Up in Green Wisdom Fridays?
Every Friday, I’ll be sharing more life lessons from the garden. We’ll explore themes like resilience, adaptability, and even letting go. Plants may be quiet, but they have a lot to teach us about how to grow—both in the garden and in life. And who knows? Maybe these posts will inspire you to look at your plants a little differently, too.
Join the Conversation!
I’d love to hear your thoughts! Have you learned any life lessons from your plants?
How do you practice patience in your own life, whether with your loved ones, your hobbies, or yourself?
Share your stories in the comments below or tag me on social media using #GreenWisdomFridays.
Let’s grow together!
PS. If you end up reading Many Lives Many Masters, I highly suggest Only Love is Real: A Story of Soulmates It talks a bit more about patience and many other great disciplines we all have to work on to connect to the creator.
I appreciate everything that you can learn from plants. I love being outside with nature and connecting with everything that grows. Despite my less-than-adequate skills with growing plants, I enjoy taking the time to help my family grow the garden in the summers. It's so satisfying knowing that the seeds planted in the spring grow into the corn and tomatoes and beans that we enjoy in the late spring. It shows us that with patience and determination, something beautiful can grow. I appreciate your wisdom bestowed to us this week!
ReplyDeleteI really love the insight growing plants has taught you about life. Plants are something that can be a background component of our lives, especially when greiving the loss of a loved one or even just raising a child. I know that plant will be a staple in your home for years to come with the memories that it holds. I am glad you were able to share that with us all.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great format idea, and a really solid post! The way you kind of personify the perspective of your plants if both funny and suprisingly poignant. As easy as it is to think of plants as background features in our fast moving and active lives, they are in fact living things who really have their shtick figured out. And I definately agree that they can teach you to be patient and trust the process, a real antidote to instant-gratification poisoning haha!
ReplyDeleteI like the focus on the fact that plants take time to grow and it also takes time for someone to learn how to care for them. I play guitar and in the early stages of learning I definitely got a heavy dose of frustration before I learned to have more patience. The nourishment aspect of growing plants seems very healing and while I have never grown plants, it will make me appreciate them more. This was a great post that gave me a new perspective on plant life.
ReplyDeleteI have never thought about growth of plants or growth of self in this way. I feel like it makes sense on the surface, but unfortunately it can sometimes be easy to forget. I had an air plant a couple of years ago that I wasn't supposed to be able to screw up taking care of, but unfortunately I had drowned it within a month. Thinking about how to take care of plants reminds me of how sometimes, in hysical and mental growth and wellbeing, it can be easy to assume that everyone has the same needs, or that results should be instantaneous. I forget this in therapy constantly, but even with impatience I am learning to appreciate the process. Like taking care of plants. This is very insightful and gets the gears turning.
ReplyDelete