How to Be Happy (Plant Edition)
Originally, I planned to write a post about being more positive. Of course, I had to do my research to see if this was a problem people were trying to solve.
Upon typing “how to” into the google search bar, I stumbled upon something I wasn’t expecting.
As well all may know, Google makes search suggestions based upon popularity and frequency.
So when one of my first recommendations was “how to be happy”, it became very apparent that this was something many people were asking!
This all got me thinking... Perhaps that could be the perfect title for a post about positivity.
After all, these concepts are deeply interconnected - if not one in the same.
While outside factors can affect the quality of your life, it’s the perspective that makes all the difference.
Think about it like this:
Have you ever been relishing in a wonderful moment or opportunity, and then something just comes right along and throws off the entire mood?
Suddenly, the situation transforms into something awful.
Did your setting really change that drastically, or was it your mindset?
Let’s be honest with ourselves:
Have you ever been stuck in a really crappy situation, but then something changes in the mood?
Perhaps a lighthearted jest with a loved one or an act of kindness from a stranger?
Your dilemma may not have suddenly turned up, but your outlook might have.
Let’s take this one step further...
Not only do I believe your attitude can make or break a moment, but it can also help to attract more good in the long run.
This positive attraction can one day override the outside factors which so commonly challenge our positive demeanor.
Would someone be more likely to give an opportunity to a positive or a negative person?
What kind of people do you attract with your attitude and demeanor?
How many moments in a day are completely dictated by your mood?
There is tons of research out there suggesting that plant parenthood can ultimately make you a happier person.
Why?
I believe plant people are taking their cues from mother nature - who imbues positivity, presence, and perseverance through the act of plant keeping.
I. Positivity: Keep Ya Head Up
Did you know there exists a rare flower, known as the arctic poppy, which rotates it’s flowery face to follow the path of the sun?
It isn’t just rare flowers.
The more common sunflower also keeps it’s head up and is always growing to face the sunshine.
Anytime your eyes find a flower, I want you to remember and embody this plant wisdom.
Always look to the positives in any situation.
Don’t get caught up in the negatives.
Ground yourself in gratitude.
When you make the most out of any situation, your cup will at least feel a little more full.
II. Presence: Be Here Now
Do you really think your snake plant in the corner is sitting there stressin’ over whether it’s gonna get fertilized this month?
Is your pothos still steamin’ about that one time you let it go a few days longer without water?
Probably not.
Don’t get me wrong, plants do experience stress, but it’s usually over factors they’re presently experiencing.
Make sure you don’t exhaust all your energy worrying about something that isn’t happening in the now.
That way, you’ll have way more emotional energy to work through problems as they come, rather than relive/play them out in your mind for extended suffering.
Every time you stop to admire your plant babies, you are practicing presence.
Have these moments serve as a reminder to be here now.
Once a plant is watered, I can assure you it’s not sitting there and worrying about the next watering day already.
They get to work using that energy for growth and healing - which actually brings me to my next point.
III. Perseverance: Keep Moving Forward
Stick around in the plant game long enough and you’ll lay witness to some serious tenacity.
Plants. Are. Troopers.
You can burn em’, drown em’, starve em’, and inflict them to trauma that other organisms would need therapy for...
Yet, if they aren’t dead, they will continue to grow despite all that.
I’ve chopped off dracaena heads and watched as two more grow back.
I’ve completely destroyed my mint plant and watched as little babies rise up from the depths.
I inherited a pothos with nothing more than some stems to its name and watched it flourish into my most aggressive grower.
No matter who hurt you, what was said, or how you’ve been disadvantaged...
Don’t do yourself the disservice of getting stuck in it.
Instead, move past it.
Keep moving forward with enough faith in yourself that things will get better with time and energy.
Don’t gossip about a conflict, work through it.
Don’t wallow in a problem, work past it.
Don’t let anything hold you back, keep on growing.
If your monkey mind makes you bring a plant or two to their knees, keep going (and watering.)
Your plants may give you living proof of this perseverance technique.