What We Can Learn from Plants

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This is a simple date that teaches and helps us practice the important marriage principle of nurturing and loving unconditionally.  It begins by going to the Bellevue Botanical Garden.  The 53 acre garden is full of beautiful wetlands, a Japanese garden, fuchsias, dahlias, ferns, and native plants- they even have a rock garden.  In the water wise garden, visitors can learn about gardening tips that conserve resources, attract butterflies (and other wildlife), and help create healthier environments.  After walking through the gardens, spread out a blanket on the lawn, enjoy a picnic together, and talk about your favorite parts of the park.  On you way home, stop at a nursery and each pick a plant.  It can be an indoor plant, flowers for the front yard, or even seeds for a vegetable garden.  Your job is to practice unconditional love by nurturing your plant daily.

In Richard Carlson’s book, “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff”, he has a section about nurturing a plant.  I thought his insights tied in perfectly with promoting healthy marriages.  He said, “One of the goals of spiritual life and one of the requirements of inner peace is to learn to love unconditionally.  The problem is, it’s really hard to love a person, any person, unconditionally.  The person we are trying to love inevitably says or does the wrong thing, or fails to meet our expectations in some way.  So, we get upset and put conditions on our love: ‘I’ll love you, but you have to change.  You must act the way I want you to act.’… A plant, however, is easy to love just the way it is.  Therefore, nurturing a plant offers us an excellent opportunity to practice unconditional love.”

He continues by talking about the transformational power of peace that comes from this type of love.  He suggests, “Talk to your plant, tell it how much you love it… Love your plant whether it blooms or not, whether it lives or dies.  Just love it.  Notice how you feel as you offer this plant your unconditional love.  When you offer this type of love you’re never agitated, irritated, or hurried.  You’re simply in a loving space.”  As you practice this type of love for a plant, it will become easier to extend this type of love to those around you.