Didn’t see that title coming, did you? Haha, neither did I 😊
So, this past week I decided to transplant some of our hostas because there were 3 varieties growing in one area and it was looking over crowded. For those that don’t know me, I am a bit OCD. Plus, we had some open spots around our patio.
I’ve never been considered a green thumb, but I thought to myself, how hard can it be? Fast brain - it’s simple, I’ll dig it up, dig another hole and drop it in! Voila!
But then my slow brain got involved and started asking a bunch of questions about making sure the plant lives. Things like: is there anything special about taking the plant out of it’s current spot?, will I hurt the roots?, how deep should the new hole be?, is the soil in the new spot ok or do I need to do add something?, should I water it right away?, if so, how much water does it need immediately?, is there too much sun / too little sun?, do transplants need “food”?, etc, etc.
I know, I’ll go to the internet and see what it has to say. Holy crap there’s a lot of information about hostas and I didn’t realize they were so cool. Check these facts out:
· Native to Japan, Korea, and China
· Can grow to be 2 inches tall or 4 feet tall and wide
· Come in a variety of colors, textures, shapes, and sizes, including bright greens and
cooler blues
· Can suppress weed growth with their shade
· Produce flowers from early summer to early fall
· Attract pollinators like bees and hummingbirds
· Grow well for decades without being divided
What I thought was a basic plant happens to be very diverse (color, size and species), defends itself against weeds, embraces flowers, is extremely resilient, and makes friends with other species.
As I was reading, I was reminded that springtime isn’t just about allergies or my grass looking awesome, but instead for appreciating the little things around me and about me. As plants begin to bust out of the soil and flowers begin to bloom, we should be taking the time to press pause, appreciate the uniqueness about ourselves just like the hosta.
And if for some reason we can’t find the uniqueness in ourselves, spring is also a perfect time to hit the reset button and take stock of who we are.
Ironically the same week I learned about my hosta friends, I took part in an exercise called a “productive pause” (Jim Harshaw – Reveal Your Path). This was an opportunity to assess how the past season of my life had gone, re-evaluate my values and whether or not I was living up to them, and to capture my goals for the summer.
One of my revelations was that I needed to do more to grow my relationship with my wife. I began to ask myself, what was I doing to stay connected (not be divided). Was I pouring into our relationship (feeding it)? Oh boy, me and the hostas have more in common than I thought. So my goals shaped into ways our relationship could continue to grow and thrive (walks, date nights, being present, etc).
So, as the world outside transforms, let's take a cue from nature and give ourselves permission to do the same. Let's use this season of renewal to reconnect with what truly matters to us, to set new goals, and to breathe new life into our dreams.
Here's to new beginnings and brighter days ahead!
ACTION: Take a productive pause (a short period of focused reflection around specific questions that leads to clarity of action and peace of mind)
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