The Anticipation of Blooming

In December of 2019, the River Garden Yoga Center teachers did a Secret Santa and mine got me a potted amaryllis. Being a novice plant mama, I loved receiving a new plant baby as a gift!

I didn’t really know how to take care of it though and all it did that first year was grow long green leaves that eventually got yellowish brown and fell off. At some point, close to Christmas of 2020, it was just a stubby bulb in the pot. I remember seeing a blooming amaryllis at the grocery store and texting a picture to my husband exclaiming: “this is what it’s supposed to look like!”

Then! On one of the gardening groups on Facebook, someone posted about the growing process of an amaryllis. The green leaves are what bring nourishment into the bulb and at some point in the year, you stop watering it and put it in a dark place to hibernate. When you bring it back out into the world to begin watering, it will grow the stalk that holds the buds with the flowers.

So I gave this a go. And to my great excitement, it bloomed!

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There are so many delicious metaphors for us humans in this little story about my plant.

The need to hibernate and shore up our nutrients for the growing process.

The importance of doing research/self-inquiry/experimentation on how to take care of something/ourselves.

The letting go of “supposed to” and allowing the space for a different kind of timeline.

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But I think what I loved most about this little story was realizing how FUN the anticipation of the blooming was.

Most of the plants I have in the house don’t have budding flowers, so the excitement of watching something grow (in February no less!) and change little by little each day tapped into a giddiness that felt like it came straight from my inner child. Not knowing what to expect and just being witness with a sense of wonder and allowing was a really freeing process.

And I thought: what if I gave MYSELF this permission to grow and change on my own timeline and in my own way. With wonder and allowing. With anticipation and excitement.

What if we did that for ourselves?

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As I reflect on growing pains and growth spurts, I know growing and changing can be challenging. We are asked to push our edge, to take a leap of faith, to stretch beyond what we thought was possible, to have hard conversations, to get out of the routine and the comfortable. What if we also threw in a dash of anticipation, a splash of fun, and stirred it all up with a bit of play?

As the moon continues to grow on it’s way to being full (on Monday!) and we celebrate Earth Day every day, may we find the excitement, hope, and promise in the growing and blooming process as we move even more deeply into the spring season. xo!