roots

There’s a plant that’s sat on my windowsill for weeks now, basking in the afternoon sunlight that turns my cozy apartment into an absolute sauna all summer long. I really don’t mind much. I like the heat. All I’m missing is a cold plunge on my patio and I’d be set, but that’s a later project. For now, the sauna, aka my apartment, is hot, and my plants…thriving.

This plant in particular, the Peperomia, which we nicknamed the pepperoni plant, I received from a friend close to the end of my summer semester with clear instructions: Do not remove it from its container for 8 to 12 weeks. The plant needs time to establish its roots.

At the time, I didn’t really think about it much. I set the plant aside with my ever growing plant collection (and ever expanding spider plant…send help), set a reminder in my phone for this coming September, and didn’t think about it again.

Well it’s nearly been 12 weeks. My calendar of summer events and adventures is coming to a close. I am readying myself for the last semester of my Masters. And tonight, I am sitting on my couch across from where my little plant sits on my windowsill with its other plant companions. Over the last 12 weeks, this Peperomia has sprouted new leaves and grown tall. I have taken care over the summer to make sure it soaks up all the sun and is given regular waterings, as with all my beloved plants. I have taken care to help it establish its roots.

What a metaphor for my life in this moment in time if there ever was one. All along I had been asking the universe for guidance. Turns out, the guidance had been right in front of me, a couple feet from where I’ve slept, and dreamt, and worked, and rested, and danced, and rejoiced all summer. As it worked, and waited, and grew, so was I.

Just like the Peperomia, I am rooting, and I wait, because roots take time to establish. Roots take effort, and growth, and patience.

“Stay in your container a little longer, my love.”

Instructions for helping a plant, and a human, grow:

Give it time to establish its roots.

All for now,

All my love,

Onward.

-m

Queue Little Plant by Ben Howard.