Perk Up
My polka dot plant was not growing, so I put it into a pot with a dragon tree (Dracaena marginata) along with another plant cutting. That isn’t something I typically do with my plants. I only did it once before with a snake plant and philodendron, and they are cohabiting quite nicely in the same pot.
The new addition to the dragon tree pot took a bit to get healthier and even grew a baby, oddly growing off a gangly stem that dangled over the edge of the pot (I wish I had taken a photo of that but you can see in the photo below how it grew.) When the new growth looked healthy enough, I cut it off the main plant and stuck it into water.
The cutting has not been doing too well. I thought it was because I cut it with the long stem (around 6 inches), and it was taking too much energy away from the plant to grow roots in water. This gave me an idea for this post.
Perk up.
This situation kind of symbolized my life. I was growing, but still tethered to limited and negative thinking. As much as I tried to change my mindset, something would creep into my thoughts (subconsciously and then consciously) about what I was to fear. Anxiety took over, and I felt overwhelmed. I decided to cut myself free just like I did to the little plant that wanted to grow on its own.
A long time went by where I didn’t feel too good either; I worked on thinking better thoughts, making peace with my past, and trying to forgive myself and others. I was withering and sad, like how that little plant looks in the photo. Until I gave myself permission to be authentic and cut myself loose from the limited-thinking shackles, I wasn’t able to thrive. Snip. And just like that, my mind finally got it. I was free. But it didn’t feel good at first.
Negative thoughts of lack and that I wasn’t good enough kept hanging on. It felt like a happy life was too far beyond my reach. But, I learned (because that’s life, right – we live and learn) that when I stopped being in situations and around people where I felt off, I was able to move in the direction I wanted to.
I needed to perk up, just like the plant. I cut the plant’s stem shorter, pulled off the dying leaves and told it to perk up. Hopefully, it’ll get better and make new roots.
If we experience tough times in our lives, telling ourselves to perk up can give us hope.
And guess what hope does? It creates change. And guess what making a positive change does for us? Makes us better, stronger, tougher, more resilient, and willing to take responsibility for ourselves. And guess what happens when we take responsibility for ourselves? We live our lives as only we see fit, and we flourish and thrive. Yay!
Perk up whoever is reading this and know that things will get better because you will make it happen.
Perk up that mind muscle from when you were a kid, and life was fascinating and not scary. That’s living in the present moment. When we live in the present, we get to control how we feel, think, and act. We aren’t working on shoddy programs from the past that can cause us to feel stuck and limited or fearful of a future that doesn’t exist yet. Perk up and watch where you’re going.
I feel better than I’ve ever felt. I’ve been growing and evolving, and really like who I am. I’m pretty darn impressed that I’m still a kind, good soul despite all I’ve been through.
The best part about writing these blogs for me is that I am learning from what I write. Words pour out of me, and all I truly want to do is put good stuff out there. I want to make the world a better place, and that takes people wanting to be better versions of themselves.
If you’re not happy, take a hard look at your life. Acknowledge how the bad stuff hurt you, feel the pain, but don’t live there. Playing the victim does not serve us well. Then, when you get the poison out, all of a sudden, there’s clarity. Now, you can see the good and focus on where you can make changes to help your life be what you want, what will make you feel joy and happiness.
We know what feels great, and we need to do more of it. If we focus on that instead of what we don’t want, we’ll attract what we want. I know it’s easy to keep talking about what we don’t like or want, but that’s only going to give us more of what we don’t like or want. Spin thoughts toward the positive, and that’s what you’ll receive.
When I sing or write, I perk up and I’m happy. I want those moments more and more, so I spend more time singing and writing because I feel great doing them.
Let’s create instead of complaining. Figure out what you like and do that, even if it’s for a few minutes a day. That’s a few minutes a day when you get to feel happy. Once you start doing that, you’ll want to feel that way more and more, and before you know it, you’re building your life the way you want to. Amazing!
Perk up. Take it from me: With some work and patience, everyone can have a happy life. And let’s face it, that is the reason we are alive—to live and be happy.
To perking up,
Francesca
