One of my most beloved hobbies is taking care of plants, and I have nearly twenty of them growing in our house. Although flowering plants are my favorite, I have nurtured a few trees, including a Nordic pine (Charlie Brown Christmas tree) and two different palm trees. One of the palms is twenty years old, and I bought it when it was only a few inches high. Today, it reaches the ceiling of our home and is roughly a foot taller than my husband. I have a spider plant that has taken over the entire window in my music room and two Crown of Thorns plants in our bedroom that flower year round. Crown of Thorns thrive in Israel and are believed to be the plant used to make Jesus’ crown as he walked the Via Dolorosa on His way to Calvary. Recently, my husband and I planted two hydrangea bushes in our front yard – vanilla-strawberry and edgy hearts. Vanilla–strawberry produces white flowers, which then turn to pink and finally to red at the end of the season. The edgy hearts produce pink flowers with heart-shaped petals – a true labor of love!

Watering, re-potting and nurturing plants help to keep me grounded in the present moment. In the past, I have written about the importance of being present in the moment – the one place where miracles are created. As my hands play in the dirt, I feel connected to nature, and my mind does not wander. I am not wallowing in the past or stressing about the future. It’s the same peaceful feeling I get when I’m spending time with my husband, practicing the flute or delivering a lecture to my class. When I was studying Reiki, I was told that plants absorb negative energy so that more peace and tranquility can fill one’s home. I believe that plants thrive where love abounds. Many take time to grow or blossom, but each stage of growth is beautiful in its own right. Although the beautiful flower can be seen as the final product, the magic lies in the growth process itself, and therein lies the peace of God.

I have found it challenging to appreciate the peacefulness of the present moment in the past few months, as my anxiety has been slightly higher than normal. One of the advantages of being married to my mirror is that my husband has the ability to intuit what I’m thinking, even though I tend to internalize everything. He told me I have been trapped in the past, so much so, that I can’t focus on the future. I tend to overanalyze everything, which sometimes results in abandoning the yearnings of my heart. Big mistake! This past summer marked a milestone for me because I graduated from high school thirty years ago. When such an event occurs, I can’t help but think of the goals that have remained elusive as opposed to the many fetes I have accomplished. Perhaps I should be cultivating gratitude along with cultivating plants!

I visited my family at the beginning of October, after not having seen them in six months. In the time that passed, my dad fell and broke his nose because of Parkinson’s-related balance issues and was diagnosed with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS). The condition itself is harmless, but because it is a very rare blood disorder, can develop into leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma. This was a blow to my mom, especially, because my sister is a leukemia survivor, and my mom is still raw from her baby’s diagnosis 39 years ago. The thought of going through the uncertainty of cancer again haunts my mom. My maternal grandmother is 102, has slight dementia and is confined to a wheelchair in the nursing home. In the words of my aunt, she is “seeing the heavenly hosts,” but she is still clinging to life. Her work here is not done. My sister began seeing a nutritionist after several unsuccessful IVF procedures and four miscarriages. Through kinesiology, the nutritionist discovered that my sister carries the gene for Parkinson’s disease. The nutritionist recommended a diet and supplements to both prevent the onset of Parkinson’s and alleviate any Parkinson’s-type symptoms. Coincidentally, the same diet and dietary supplements naturally increase one’s fertility – an added benefit to my sister who has been trying to get pregnant for the past thirteen years. After following the program prescribed by the nutritionist for only a few weeks, Christa got pregnant naturally and is due 7 February 2019. She is having a baby boy. Her pregnancy is teaching her the same type of lesson I am learning by nurturing plants: a healthy baby is the ultimate goal, but it’s the daily care over the course of nine months that gets you there. Each ultrasound reveals more and more about the baby, and every stage is precious. His heart has been beating for months, but the first kick took slightly longer and enormous gratitude abounds for each and every stage of his development.

So, what have I learned from all this? (1) Peace in the present moment creates miracles. (2) Worry never helps and can be detrimental to the outcome. (3) There is always a reason to be grateful. I am grateful that my dad is healthy today and can engage in his normal routine even though a cane and a walker sit in storage at my parents’ home. I am grateful my grandma recognized me after not seeing me for 6 months, said, “I love you, I love you” as soon as she saw me and asked if I brought my husband to visit her – not bad for a 102 year old woman who suffers from dementia. I am grateful I am going to be an aunt and Godmother in a few months. Alfred Joseph (A.J.) Mecadon, we can’t wait to meet you! And, perhaps most importantly, I am grateful for my husband, my mirror, my heart, who supports me and encourages me every day of this journey. It’s all about the journey with my love, and I thank God I followed my heart.

Bloom where you are planted takes on a special meaning for me. The hydrangeas we are nurturing with love are in an early growth stage. By next spring, we should see flowers blooming. Hydrangea translated means “water vessel.” Our bodies are more than 70% water, so in essence, we, too, are water vessels. According to the late Masaru Emoto, water crystals respond to beautiful words, beautiful sounds and beautiful feelings. There is no greater reason to treat ourselves and others with love and kindness. It is not only about the goal itself but about the growth process that brings greater meaning to our lives. Each soul’s purpose is different but no less important than another’s, and each is Divine and orchestrated by God. Happy Blooming!

God has placed you here for a purpose,
Whatever it might be;
Know He has chosen you for it
And labor faithfully. —Anon.