Bloom where you are planted

A long time ago, I was on holiday in Dorset and everywhere I looked it seemed that there were cascades of pink and white daisies. They could be found between the cracks on pavements, on garden paths and even growing happily up garden walls. Shortly after I came home, I bought a pretty little pot of the same type of pink and white daisies. Since then, those daisies have multiplied exponentially and now bloom abundantly in my garden. Every time I see them, they make me happy.

Living as an a non-native in a foreign land, it has taken a while to stop feeling like a plant plucked out of the soil and re-potted in unfamiliar ground.

For a long time I felt as though I was a will-o’-the-wisp. I spent a great deal of time berating how things worked over here: everything was different, things that used to be simple were now very difficult and I found I was constantly comparing things and making myself miserable.

And then I gradually really began to realise that I was completely wasting my time, spoiling my experience and that of those around me in grumbling and grizzling about whatever was my latest gripe.

It’s all very well to have your head in the clouds, and contemplate how things would be if only you were somewhere else, but if you are not grounded where you are, then it is as if you are splitting yourself in two.

If you feel rootless, life can be very unsettling. The trick is to ground yourself. When I found some techniques to ground myself, my whole outlook began to change. I started to take more of an interest in things going on around me with a brand new awareness and appreciation. What an exciting opportunity to experience life in a different part of the world! How lucky I am to have discovered a world which offers chocolate with coffee, parakeets nesting in the park and bold red squirrels. An enjoyment of the present means that everything else falls easily into place.

It doesn’t even matter if you are aware that you are staying in the country for a fixed term, or an indeterminate amount of time. Actually, in truth, nobody can say with any certainty that they are here for a fixed amount of time, can they? Who knows what the future has in store. That doesn’t mean that the future is something to be wary about or faced with fear, just that we should try and embrace our present lives here, with what we have now.

Red is one of the most effective grounding colours of the spectrum. It connects us to the earth, is connected with having our basic and material needs met. It is the colour of security, both physical and financial, and if we are not sufficiently grounded, it can manifest in our lives in many areas: physical, mental as well as emotional.

My abundance of daisies have started to come back to life after sleeping for the winter. They have managed to make their home in tiny cracks along the patio, along the ground against the walls of the house and in the most surprising of places with the tiniest scrap of earth. They are truly a perfect example of not only blooming but thriving where they find themselves. Whenever I look at them, I determine to do the same.