ALLOW YOURSELF TO GROW

Ring ring....ring ring 


Mom: Hello 
Me: Urgh, they're dead again!


Mom: What you talking about?
Me: My plants, they're dead again 


Mom: Dain, have you been watering them?
Me: (insulted) I've been looking after them good since they came back from the hospital (my mom's house) 


Mom: Are they getting enough light?
Me: (again insulted) yes mother. They're sat on the window sill, how much more light can they get! (slightly irritated at this point)


Mom: Well are you pruning them?
Me: (silence).....Pruning? 


Mom: Yes Daina, you have to cut off the dead leaves to allow the new shoots to grow. 
Me: But...
Mom: No buts, prune the plants for crying out loud. I am not taking them in every-time you see two dead leaf. 
Me: (embarrassed) Alright alright 
Mom: Good. Now I got to go. I've got something on the fire and I can smell burning. Bye love. 
Me: Bye Mommy  

After I'd been so harshly roughed up. I took to my kitchen with a floor full of newspaper, plastic gloves, scissors and of course, the plants. Those who know me will confirm that I am not a domesticated person. I clean because I don't like mess and I cook because a girl got to eat. So it was no surprise to me that my plants were in such a terrible state because I hadn't been paying them enough attention.

As I began 'pruning' I thought back to when I was a nipper and I used to see my mom doing the same thing. I thought it's crazy how time flies. I remember watching my mom thinking, the time she's spending messing with that plant is ridiculous. Makes it worse she's talking to it. My mother used to tell me that plants could feel and hear everything and that talking to them was healthy. Of course I did start to wonder whether she was going slightly cuckoo but now,  decades on, whenever I pop round, there they all are George, Ruby & Co (yes, they have names) all taller and stronger than ever.

I continued to prune whilst thinking about the mechanics of what I was doing and what my mother had said; 'you have to cut off the dead leaves to allow the new shoots to grow'. I stared at my red leafed prayer plant for a moment to take in it's appearance. It was full and big but it still looked sick. So many of the leaves were brown and dead to a crisp, yet they were still attached to the beautiful red and green leaves that were full of life and ready for more. The dead leaves were taking up space in the plant pots, sucking the life out of roots that the living leaves were trying to drink from and ultimately holding back my beautiful prayer plant from being all that she could be. Yes I had been watering her and giving her light but I'd been mistaken in thinking that's all she needed. What she also needed was room to grow, room to become all she could be. Suddenly, I was hacking away at the dead leaves and found myself talking to her 'come on baby, mommy loves you. I'm gonna get rid of all these suckers and you just promise me you'll grow and become big and strong'.

As the words left my lips they began to resonate in my mind until I couldn't help asking myself, what about me? I looked at my prayer plant and saw the results of neglect and laziness. Thinking that I was doing enough had almost killed my baby, when really I hadn't done half of what I was supposed to do to make sure she was well and healthy. With that I grabbed my car keys, hopped in the car and headed off to B&Q. You see, not only had my neglect caused the dead leaves to remain, I'd also neglected to realise that my baby needed a new plant pot.

I wanted her to be all that she could be but I hadn't put her first!

In life it is easy to neglect ourselves. Not just in appearance but also in giving ourselves the space we need to grow. I thought about all the dead leaves I've held onto over the years and how much space they've taken up in my pot and in all honesty I wanted to kick myself...but I didn't. I asked myself why were they even there? Because they make me look fuller? more complete? but aren't they killing me below surface? sucking the nutrients out of my roots and making me look ugly? So ugly that no matter how much light or water I take in I'm not seeing the benefits? I was asking the questions and answering them at the same time. It was time to let go and shoot new roots. Take on a new pot, grow to fill it and if dead leaves came then make sure those suckers got pruned asap. When that pot was full, I'd buy another pot and so on and so on. Until one day I'd be as big, tall and strong as I want to be all because I took time to do a little bit of pruning and wasn't scared that for a short while I may not look as full and big as I used too.

My quote today comes from my beautiful mother, she says;


'when you let go of all the bad things you make room for God to fill you with more goodness'


Happy Pruning!


D x