Plant-fix: What plants can teach us about self-care
Content Design Manager, Shaleah Dawnyel, shares how plants can bring both balance and unexpected learnings during challenging times.
With 2020 coming to a close, we asked our team to reflect on their journeys. How did they manage to muddle through this unexpected year, and what hard-earned lessons came out of it? Of course, there is plenty to be gained from examining our work life. As a scaling start-up, we have learned heaps about communication and collaboration from navigating the new normal. But what have we learned about ourselves as individuals during this time?
That’s what made Shaleah Dawnyel’s story so unique. When she mentioned that plants were her secret for staying sane during the global pandemic, we had to hear more.
When did your interest in plants first blossom?
‘In my personal development work, over the last decade or so, one of the things that was recommended to me by different sources was putting your hands in the earth.’
Shaleah goes on to explain that gardening has helped her stay present in the here and now. ‘It’s easy to feel “ungrounded” during these crazy times. Whenever I feel overwhelmed by situations or too much information I try to get really intentional. Whether I repot a plant, or I get some new herbs for the balcony, or just go for a walk and concentrate on the trees — purposely interacting with nature has become an important practice for me. Beyond brightening my home and increasing the oxygen level, gardening has also had more far-reaching and endearing effects on my sense of self.’
If anyone were to visit her fifth-floor apartment, they would quickly find evidence of her botanical practice. Each houseplant is expertly displayed and cared for — they even have names. With such an array of greenery, it’s hard to imagine that Shaleah once had a brown thumb. ‘I always thought I was a plant killer! But my first plant that lived longer than a few months (I named her Isabel) gave me the courage to start believing that maybe I wasn’t. I began to learn — and later accept — that some plants wanted to live with me, and some just didn’t.’
Gardening during a global pandemic
When the world went into lockdown, Shaleah thought to herself, ‘okay, I’m stuck at home, with less people and more time than usual. I don’t have any other living things in my apartment, except for me and my houseplants. How can I increase the life around me, but also ground my own life?’
The answer was, of course, gardening. With massive containers for carrots, onions, tomatoes, and zucchini — not to mention an extensive assortment of herbs — Shaleah cultivated an entire balcony garden. The project was equal parts exercise and mission. Not having an elevator, Shaleah recalls the effort it took to accumulate all the soil required to plant things like carrots. ‘Little 20-litre bag by 20-litre bag, it took a few weeks but I was eventually able to get all the soil up here.’
Shrugging off the accomplishment, Shaleah goes on to note the value of goal setting this year. ‘I think that’s also been important — trying to find happy little things that you’re excited to do, that are grounding, that are natural, and remind you of life and its endless potential. Especially in this overly virtual season that we’re living in.’
What we can learn from plants
So what has Shaleah uncovered while digging for answers in the dirt? ‘The beauty of my experience living with plants during Covid has been their ability to show growth in real-time,’ she explains. ‘When the world feels like it’s out of control or like it’s standing still, it’s profoundly inspirational to see a new sprout, a new blossom, a new leaf come through. Even when it feels like things aren’t working, we are still growing.’
Here are just a few of these grounding lessons:
Not every relationship will work out
One of the hardest things in plant ownership is knowing when to let them die. Shaleah calls this her ‘lets-see-if-this-thing-wants-to-live-with-me’ philosophy. If a plant does well with a little water, light, and love, the relationship sticks. If not, it wasn’t meant to be. Betty the fern was one such companion. Shaleah recalls moving Betty from room to room, trying to crack the perfect combination of water and sunlight. ‘She would be happy. And then she’d be sad. And she’d be in the same place, and nothing would have changed…it just didn’t work out.’ Balance is the key, Shaleah argues. ‘A combination of being concerned and caring, and then also just kind of letting it go.’
Our human relationships are no different. As Shaleah notes, living in a pandemic forces her to ‘trim the social excess and spend time with the people that I really want to focus on.’ When you can only meet with a handful of people safely, you nurture the relationships that are a priority.
Cut out what no longer serves you
Sometimes you have to cut off sickly parts of your plants to save them. ‘My plants will let me know if something’s trying to die,’ Shaleah points out. ‘This was really hard for me at first as I didn’t want to actively cut anything off. But I started to realize that if a part needs to go, and you take it off, then the plant can redirect its energy and attention to the parts that are living — the parts that are doing well. This redistribution of energy resources, applied to work and relationships and purpose, can be a powerful life lesson.’
Pruning is even a necessary part of the life cycle for some vegetation. In fall, Shaleah observes, ‘they trim back trees to make way for the winter so that they can go inside and conserve energy and then come back new.’ Shaleah goes on to note that people also have natural cycles, despite our best efforts to forget this. ‘We all have seasons like this, and watching nature helps us to accept the seasons of our lives.’
Find the right environment
Just like our leafy counterparts, finding the right environment is an essential part of our wellbeing. Unfortunately, people learn to disregard these needs. ‘We’re taught to just run and do and keep up with the status quo,’ Shaleah explains. ‘And right now, because everything’s on pause and everything’s so weird, we get this opportunity to reassess. It’s a great chance to ask: What’s important to me? What are my priorities? What do I actually need?’
‘In this difficult, interesting time that we’re in, there’s a larger understanding of where we physically need to be, and the potential flexibility around that.’ As Shaleah goes on to explain, the generally-accepted ideas about what constitutes a workplace are over. ‘Going back to work, whatever that means, will not only have taken on a different form, I think it will be a more dynamic form — hopefully, one that is a bit more human.’ She hopes that people will bring more self-knowledge about what they need to work more joyfully and sustainably, whether that’s more outside activity, intellectual stimulation, or quiet time. ‘In being forced to stay inside, I hope that people will go inside [themselves].’
Why should someone try gardening?
‘There are many reasons to try gardening, but my top two are grounding and possibility. Putting your hands in dirt is such a fundamentally grounding activity. I like how the German word for ‘soil’, Erde, actually translates into ‘earth’. So when I was running around getting stuff for my garden, I was running around buying Earth. In this virtual world of ours, it’s so easy to feel like we might float away — with all the ideas, concepts, and information we need to sort. Gardening brings us back to earth.’
‘Also, it illustrates possibilities. When you start with a small plant or even a seed, and you watch it grow over time, it confirms the resilience and possibility of life. Every time one of my oldest plants — a Monstera named Sadie — sprouts a new leaf, I feel proud. No matter what is going on in the world or my experience in this moment, she reminds me that life goes on.’
Interested in growing with us? Check out our open positions.
