Prompt #26 - Tend to your garden

Just like our plants, our relationships need a bit of TLC to grow

Introverts, extroverts, whatever-verts, we all need strong connections to other humans in our lives. Whether you like to be constantly surrounded by people, or can't imagine anything better than spending the whole weekend cooped up alone with a good book. Strong relationships are a major contributor to our well-being.

Photo by Erda Estremera on Unsplash

Strong relationships make us feel safe, loved, and like we don't have to face life's ups and downs on our own.

But like most things in life, building and maintaining strong relationships needs our active participation. In order for them to grow and be strong, we need to tend to our relationships much like we need to tend to a garden.

So today, we want to take a moment and take stock of the important people in our lives, of the plants in our garden.

The Activity: Draw your garden

We want to create a drawing or a collage which represents all the the people close to us as plants in our garden.

Step 1: The people

Think about the people that are the most important in your lives. Who are you closest with? Who can you depend on? Who do you spend the most time with? Are there people you wish you were closer to, either geographically or emotionnally? People you might have lost touch with, or those you mourn because they've already moved on from this world?

And remember, this exercise doesn't have to start or end with your family. Our chosen family of friends is just as important as those we are related to.

Or as my favourite monster-hunting-salvage-yard-owner Bobby Singer put it:

Step 2: The plants

Start drawing your garden, starting with yourself and the people closest to you. Thinking about each person, try to identify which qualities you appreciate about them. Are they funny, adventurous, strong, dependable? Can you think of any plants that represent those same characteristics?

You don't have to be a botanist to identify the right plant. Hell, the plants you draw don't even have to exist in reality. Are they a tree, or a flower? Tall, small? Colourful? Blue, yellow, pink? With thorns? Maybe even carnivorous?

Photo by David Sola on Unsplash

Keep making it up as you go along, and don't be afraid to change the plan if your drawing wants to head in a different direction. Follow your gut.

Step 3: Take stock

When you're done, take a look at your garden. How did you position them? Are some closer to you than others? Is there anything you can learn from the plants you chose to represent each person? Which emotions come up when you look at your people-plants?

If you wanted to draw your best friend as a rose bush but they ended up as a maple tree, maybe there's a difference in how you think you see them, and the role they actually play in your life.

Whatever you learn, take a moment here to be grateful for all the beautiful plants in your garden.

My Example

I had a great plan layed out in my mind before I started. I was going to include my family, and my different groups of friends from the different places I've lived, with the spaces between us representing geographical distance.

But my garden decided to show up differently on the page today.

On the left you have myself, my husband, and my daughter. He's a cherry tree - tall, strong, sweet. I'm a magnolia - colourful, but can get a bit messy. Between us is our daughter, still a little tree fledgling, but she'll outgrow us all one day.

Behind me, my father - big, sturdy, perennial. My mom next to him, once just as strong and dependable, now unfortunately getting weaker with age and sickness. A group of birch trees next to her, standing for my brother, his wife, my nephew, my grandma. The birches don't necessarily reprent them as people, but birches are very present in the area I'm from, so I associate those with home and happy memories. Next to them, my sister, also a tall tree, just a bit more exotic.

My friends are the flowers, bringing colour to the world, and making it a lot more fun. It turns out that they are all right there with us, because it doesn't really matter where in the world we are to be close to each other.

I'm eternally grateful for such a beautiful garden.

Have a wonderful week my creative friends, and who knows, maybe you'll call up one of the people in your garden just to say hi.

Love,

Lorena

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