My poinsettia has been blooming for a month now. What fun to watch the resurrection of last year's plant.I repotted the poinsettia last spring. Just as i suspected, the roots were bound into a very small peat pot, used for starting seedlings, that had not quite biodegraded. I broke the peat pot open and spread the roots into potting soil in a slightly larger plastic pot than the one i was taking it out of.
From previous experience of trying to keep poinsettias over the summer, there would come a time in April or May when the plant would wilt and look beyond help. Eventually, i discovered the roots were constrained into a 2-inch ball, even though the plastic pot was much larger.
How do we constrain ourselves? What keeps us knotted tightly and prevents us from living our authentic life?
Self-judgement, self-pity, self-isolation, self-absorption are some of the familiar ways of getting locked into the small world of our own thoughts.
Let's tend and befriend ourselves by applying some loving-kindness and compassion to ourselves. Starting with ourselves is not selfish; we need to put our own oxygen masks on first, so that we are better able to express kindness and compassion toward others.
Spread out your roots in your own life, so that you can bloom--even in the winter.
nice post! and to boot, someone who has managed to rebloom a poinsetta! I am impressed with this patience and attentiveness.
ReplyDeleteI usually throw mine out in January. Perhaps that tells me something about the parts of myself I am continually trying to throw out.
Thanks for this thoughtful metaphor. I am going to chew on it a while before I digest it.