Getting Yanked Out By Your Roots

My mother was a fabulous gardener. She spent many hours puttering in her garden, nurturing her plants, arranging cut flowers and trying to convince my father that certain green sprouts were indeed not weeds. When she passed away a number of years ago and the house I grew up in was sold, I felt a real sadness at leaving her garden behind.

One of her favourite plants was a very large heritage peony bush. Each spring it delighted us with the most amazingly fragrant blossoms. A few years ago when visiting friends in Toronto, I decided on a whim that I would return to my childhood home and somehow take a cutting from that peony bush. Fortunately for me, the woman who had bought the house was still living there, remembered me, and quite graciously agreed.

going for it in spite of the odds

Not being particularly prepared I only had a spade and a plastic grocery bag. And not wanting to impose for too long, I simply dug out a section of the bush and stuffed it into the bag. After wrapping the somewhat bedraggled roots in wet paper towels, the peony became my carry-on luggage, making the trip back to Edmonton in the overhead bin. In hind sight it’s amazing that the plant survived the trip at all.

Once back in my own garden, with a hopeful spirit, I planted the peony and waited. If you don’t know much about peonies let me just say that they are rather finicky plants. They don’t like to be moved once planted, so most certainly they don’t like to be ripped out of the ground and travel on an airplane.

I waited. The following spring the peony had miraculously survived. I continued to wait – for three more years. Each spring the peony would return with lovely green leaves but alas no flowers. That was until this year. Wow! The brilliant display was certainly worth the wait as the bush was literally covered in flowers.

getting yanked out by your roots can be a good thing

Sometimes life circumstances conspire to shove you out of your comfort zone. I’m sure the peony was quite happy growing in the same comfortable spot it had been for years. Until I came along. Then it was transplanted in a rather rude fashion into a totally different climate.

How often do we resist yanking ourselves out of our comfort zones? Perhaps that is exactly what you might need in order to really blossom. The peony demonstrated that perfectly.

• A dramatic change can create the most wonderful results. Sometimes baby steps are great. But sometimes taking a giant leap is really what is called for. You can’t cross a chasm in two steps.

• It takes patience when you are out of your comfort zone. When you make a big change, everything feels foreign. It might take some time before you regain your balance and settle into a new kind of normal.

• What seems impossible sometimes just needs a little faith and some nurturing care. You’ve got to believe what you want to make happen is truly possible. And along the way, some tender loving care makes the transition that much easier.

My mother always said bloom where you’re planted. In or out of your comfort zone, that’s pretty good advice.

Laurel Vespi, certified life coach and the creative energy behind stone circle coaching, ignites businesses & individuals to new levels of CHANGE. Laurel provides personal coaching services to clients internationally, providing unconventional yet practical tips that make the seemingly impossible... possible!
Visit Laurel’s website where you can get a free Guidebook to Blissful Living. www.stonecirclecoaching.com