taking care.

peace lily success.

last week i had my first vedic astrology reading. the guy's name is peter and when i talked to him on the phone, he sounded like your average 30-something dude. then he told me a lot of things--some obvious, some more complicated--and hearing it all made sense and made me feel a lot better about this life i am living. his main message to me was how important it was for me to take care of myself and give myself stability. i told him that sometimes i feel selfish for spending so much time making sure that i am rested, well-feed, yogaed, and in touch with my emotions, etc. "nah," he said, "that stuff is really good for you." he told me if i continued to follow that path then good things were going to come my way so who am i to argue with that?

i inherited the above peace lily when i moved back to dc and since having it, it has failed to thrive. the only exception to this was when i went to peru for a month and my subleaser diana, quite an earthmother, took care of it for me. i came back and was happy to find two of the white blossoms sticking above the green leaves. then it went back to my care and i watched them shrivel up in following weeks. i told everyone that the plant didn't really like me that much, but the reality was i wasn't giving it what it needed. i have since learned that it likes to shower with me once a week, with little bits of watering in the meantime, and likes to be turned now and then so all of it's leaves get good sun. i've been really dedicated about keeping up with it over this past month and then last week, i noticed a little patch of white. it's started to open today and i am quite proud to report that there are two others starting to come up as well.

(note that in in this past month i have also been doing a really deep food/herb cleanse, keeping my room super clean and uncluttered, making my own yoga practice a priority again, making sketchbook art again, and being vigilant about my morning writing practice).

having another life form's well-being linked to mine is best possible mirror for me to see how i am doing. i feel embarrassed that it's taken me three years to figure out what it needs, but relieved that i am doing this learning on a plant and not on a pet or even a child. i've always said that i don't want to have kids until i figure out how to take care of myself and although i know i still have much to learn, this feel like a sign that i am figuring out all those little things that help me to flow and be my happiest, healthiest self. my wish is that this continues to radiate outward.

happy weekend everyone! xoxo