What My Plants Taught Me About Life
It may seem silly, but I’ve gleaned quite a few life lessons from my houseplants. Especially as my collection has grown, I’ve experienced more and more of an impact on some of my thought patterns and beliefs.
So I thought it would be interesting to share these insights, to see if perhaps other plant parents have experienced any of these as well… or perhaps if you’re not currently a plant owner it will inspire you to become one!
1: My plants have taught me patience.
Most things worth having are worth waiting for. Watching a new calathea leaf slowly unfurl, a new shoot pop up from my sansevieria, or a new vine begin to trail from my ceropegia woodii is the slowest form of entertainment. But entertainment it is. (For me anyway!)
As they grow, I wonder what their markings will look like and how big they’ll wind up being. I root them on (pun intended!) and take care to protect the new growth.
In turn, this has taught me to be kind to new endeavors and projects. To be patient even if they don’t pan out the way I expected and to be forgiving as they evolve (maybe slower than I would have liked) into what I envisioned in my head.
2: My plants have taught me that not all beauty is visible on the surface.
Anyone who propagates plants will tell you that watching the roots grow is one of the most satisfying experiences. Propagation in water allows you a glimpse into the underworld of your plant. Some people never even plant these propagations in soil, they simply enjoy the raw and stunning beauty of watching the plant’s inner workings.
While it’s easy to get distracted by the bright and beautiful foliage that a plant may offer, there are so many other aspects to what makes a plant beautiful.
Whenever I repot a plant I am reminded of all the hard work happening below the surface. The pattern of roots reaching for water and nutrients, is just as beautiful to me as the foliage above.
I now am kinder to myself, especially when I feel like a mess on the outside. I remind myself that while I may not feel beautiful, I am beautiful… inside and out.
3: My plants have taught me that you can adapt.
As hard as I try, my plants don’t always have perfect growing conditions. Sometimes the light is too low, I forget to water them (or overwater them!), or they take a spill.
My plants have almost always bounced back and recovered from any mishaps. So, too, can I.
I’m reminded that nothing is permanent and that while some things may seem devastating in the moment, oftentimes they are not as terrible as I initially make them out to be. What’s more, I am capable of changing course and growing, even if I’m thrust unexpectedly and unwillingly into that growth.
4: My plants have taught me to listen.
Everything has a voice if you learn to listen. My plants will tell me when they are thirsty, when they need a bigger pot, when they need more (or less) sun.
While sometimes their cries are obvious, usually they are not. You have to really listen to know what they need and to respond based on what you’re hearing.
This has taught me that my voice isn’t always the most important one in the room. Sometimes other people have valuable or thoughtful insights, but I won’t hear them if I don’t listen.
Too often I find myself in a reactionary state, where I don’t even allow the inputs I’m receiving to permeate before I’m replying. But just as my plants slowly voice their needs, so too do others; I just need to listen and give them the space to speak.
5: My plants have taught me that sometimes you just need support.
Providing a plant what it needs can seem simple at the outset. (Soil, water, sun, right?) But an individual plant’s needs can vary wildly even from plants of the same species.
Learning when to provide a plant with support; be it a stake, a shelf to climb on, or a place to trail, is important. While most plants will figure out a way to get what they need (this wall was for me to climb, right?) they’ll often be grateful if you deliberately provide them with the support they need.
I find that I often cut myself off from support. But after watching my snake plant stand taller after I carefully staked it, I realized how important support really is.
I can be difficult to ask for help, or for a sympathetic ear. But ultimately, we need each other. The support I provide to others is important for myself too, I just have to remember to ask for it.
6: My plants have taught me to just breathe.
I’ve always found it a little silly that plant tags mention that they are “air purifying”. Well, duh!
The symbiotic relationship of humans and plants is just another reason I love them. They feed on the air we expel and we literally can’t survive without the air they expel.
But while that’s all wonderful and amazing, it’s the reminder to breathe that I love them for the most. When I am stressed (or just anytime really) I look around my space and gaze on the green around me. I find myself breathing deeper as I remember all the lessons I listed above, and remembering how grateful I am for the magic that is plant life.
7: Finally, my plants have taught me that life is one big learning adventure.
I knew nothing about how to care for my plants when I bought them. I didn’t know their Latin names, their care needs, or the benefits they would bestow on me as I took care of them.
And even a Google search wasn’t enough. I needed time, experience, trial and error, and… well yes, some Googling to learn how to help my plants thrive.
In the beginning I thought, “there’s no way I’m going to remember all of this”. I thought for sure I would be screwing it up right and left and that all of my plants were doomed.
But I persisted as slowly more and more information sunk in. I found myself instinctively knowing if a plant needed water, automatically naming a random plant at a grocery store, thrillingly propagating my plants and watching them multiply.
And that’s when I realized that the final lesson they had taught me was to remember that life is learning. We will never be perfect, we will never know everything. There will always be mysteries in this Universe, there will always be things I don’t know.
But to be open to learning, to have the ability to absorb new information, that makes all the difference.
