Watering Kindness

I live in a passive solar house with lots of glass on the south-facing side. From about Groundhog Day until the Spring Equinox, the sun beams in through the windows turning the entire house into a greenhouse. Every sunny day (this week all 7 of them), the temperature in the house rises into the 80s. Every day feels like a day at the beach, even though the morning started in the single numbers, and the daytime temperatures struggle to reach 32 degrees.

The houseplants in the solarium soak up all this sun, so i have to increase my watering schedule from 2 to 3 or even 4 times a week. The hanging plants, in particular, are prone to drying completely out.

Sometimes the conditions of our lives heat up (and maybe even overheat)--irritation and frustration at work, anger toward our nearest and dearest, even rage or disgust when it comes to talking about certain issues.

When anger, frustration, and irritation heat up to point where we are rehashing the same thing over and over, that's when we need to step up our watering schedule of loving-kindness (toward ourselves), compassion (toward ourselves), and gratitude about the blessings of our lives. (We have sun. We have water.)

Repeating these practices, even several times through the day waters the deep roots of kindness and friendliness in our lives.

The houseplants look a lot better when they're not wilted and parched. You will too.