Bloom where you are planted

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. (Theodore Roosevelt)

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

For a long time I felt as though I was a floating, rootless will-o’-the-wisp, not able to connect with where I found myself re-planted. I spent a great deal of time berating how things worked over here: food didn’t taste as good, banks were much trickier to handle, and generally everything was always much more efficient, sensible, well-run etc. back in my home country.

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 bugbear about living in Brussels.

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, then it’s difficult to take things in, absorb the nutrients if you like.

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 as a matter of course, parakeets nesting in the park, bold red squirrels and punctual trams.

Enjoyment of the present means that the future falls easily into place without any tortured effort on your part.

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.

Flowers cannot thrive without exposure to light as well as nourishment from the earth. Are you getting enough light and nourishment in your life?