I love houseplants. I also love meditation and mindfulness. But what do houseplants and mindfulness have in common? Well let’s start at the beginning of my houseplant obsession. I started out buying a few plants for my yoga studio/meditation space in my house. (You can see how I made my meditation space here) I named them and cared for them, and loved a couple to death. (Death by overwatering was a common theme for the first little while)
At first I was entertained by the challenge and the research involved with trying to keep my plants alive. Over time I found that I loved how my new additions made my meditation space feel. Plants slowly started creeping into other areas of the house. I loved finding new homes for plants and checking on them each day.
Fast forward 2 years and we have 70+ houseplants and Christy enjoys them as much as I do. I spend a significant amount of time caring for them. Watering, fertilizing, repotting, pruning, etc make up a chunk of my time. And I love it. It takes a solid 30-45 minutes to water all the plants if we do them in one go! Now I chose to make caring for my houseplants and mindfulness moments a part of each day.
Maybe before I meditate I check on the studio plants, then after work I see a plant upstairs that needs water. While I cook dinner I check on the herbs in the kitchen. Each time I check on a plant, or stop to water someone, I have a moment of mindfulness and connection.
Taking a moment to stop and smell the flowers if you will. Putting my hands in the dirt and repotting a plant gives me a moment of sunshine and summer even in winter. Sometimes I feel as though the air in the house is fresh and filled with green and growing things. Every new leaf is cause for celebration, every flower an excuse to pause a moment and enjoy.
These small moments of happiness fill my days and weeks. Taking the time to appreciate new growth (or a plant coming back from the brink of death) is a wonderful routine. I have purposely filled my time with breaks from the ordinary, marvelling at nature, and connecting with life.
My plants bring me peace, joy, and wonder at life. What brings you moments of mindfulness? How can you build more of that into your days and weeks? How do you connect with nature?
