Money tree plants, mine and my son's.
Our adult son has a way with plants, always researching how they grow best and one-time, even creating a self-watering hydroponics tower (plants that grow in water) in a greenhouse he created in his one-bedroom apartment. Seeing him nurture his green thumb brings me great joy. I grew up surrounded by houseplants, as did he, and it makes me happy to see the family tradition continue.
About five years ago, my son and I were gifted money tree plants by a dear family friend. We each received the same sized "tree" in a very small, five-inch diameter pot. I watered mine faithfully. The leaves were healthy, but it never seemed to grow. I thought that's just the way this plant is. Not so.
One day at our son's apartment, I noticed he had re-potted his money tree and it was at least double the size of mine. He said, "Oh yeah, that container was too small. There was no room for the roots to grow."
I repotted mine and it grew quickly. Now, another year later, my son is in transition and I'm taking care of his plants. When he put his money tree next to mine, I was astounded. It's huge! He had repotted it again.
Turns out these plants can grow one to eight feet indoors and up to fifty feet in the wild in their native lands, South and Central America. It all depends on the size of their container. If kept in a small pot, they will stay
small, if put into a larger one, they will grow into it. If planted in the ground, their growth is unlimited.
We grow according to our containers too. If we keep our minds and worlds small, we stay small. If we take a
risk now and then to expand our territory, we will soon fill our new shoes until those become snug, and then we're ready for even greater expansion.
An artist recently asked me about a place she was showing her work. She
was having doubts that it was the right space for her. She felt the container was too small and needed to be in a place where she was encouraged to be bigger.
One of my son's friends had a job he didn't love, except
when they let him create videos. He had a passion and natural talent for it, but mostly they wanted him to do the work he hated. His work box was too small to let all of him grow into his passions, talents and gifts.
Whenever we are confined and unable to grow and express ourselves fully, we will experience stagnation which often leads to frustration. Our day jobs may not always be the source of our greatest fulfillment, but our life containers must be big enough so that we have room to expand in the areas that matter most to us. For some, it could be work-related. For others, it may be recreation or hobbies.
I have known that my art container needed to be bigger, but I had gotten comfortable with the galleries and boutiques that carry my work. When the tornado forced my home gallery to temporarily close in December, I picked up twenty-two paintings from them and had to find new homes for all that work.
Essentially, I was forced out of my comfort zone.
Since then, I have been blessed to place work in three new places. Two were close to home, but one was out of state, two hours away. Making that drive seemed more
intimidating, a big unknown. I hadn't seen the gallery before and didn't want to waste my time.
When I arrived, the gallery was much bigger and better than I could've hoped for. The owner is delightful. She accepted six
paintings and I headed home. I remember starting the two hour ride back from Decatur, Alabama, thinking, "That wasn't so hard. How amazing that I could load paintings in the car and drive two hours to be in a totally new market. And be home by the afternoon." To make it even better, that gallery sold two big paintings in less than a week! I've already been paid on both.
A friend of mine likes to say, "How good can you stand it?!" So I ask you the same question. How good can you stand it? How is the size of your container working for you? Do you have room to grow or are you already at max capacity? How does that feel? Is there more of you to be developed? Do you feel cramped and unfulfilled?
It's never a great idea to read a newsletter and immediately go quit your job or make any big life change. But now is always a great time to assess your "container" and make sure you're not boxed in with nowhere to grow. What
would it take for you to experience ten percent more expansion than you feel right now? Is there a project at work you can express interest in? Can you take a class that would nurture a buried hobby?
You are the gardener
of your heart, soul and spirit. Do you have room to grow one foot or fifty feet? Make sure the containers you choose leave plenty of room to bloom.
