My oldest daughter’s college dorm room is beautifully decorated and chock-full of live plants. So, when she comes home for extended periods of time, all her plants come with her. I’m telling you this because she and I had both received the exact same plant as a gift from my Mom. Over the summer, while both plants received the same amount of water, they lived in different rooms of our home. As the weeks passed, I watched one plant thrive with strong, bright green leaves, while the plant in the other room just survived. That got me thinking about the impact small decisions can have on my ability to grow to my fullest potential.

Throughout my life I’ve certainly gone through periods of survival. But, I’ve also had the pleasure of going through periods of thriving. What I know about the journey from surviving to thriving is that it takes awareness, but also action. I always have to be willing to get up and move to light that better suits my growth. That movement might be in the form of adjusting my weekly routine, spending time with different people, clearing my home of clutter that’s weighing me down, changing what I watch on screens, making more time for connection and fun. 

For the longest time, Team, I didn’t even know if I was a full sun plant or a part shade variety. I needed other people to encourage me to actually look at my leaves. If my foliage isn’t looking its best, they taught me that I have options. I don’t have to stay in whatever light happens to come my way. They invited me to become curious about what helps me grow and to invest time and resources to give myself the kind of light where flourishing becomes possible.

While I was thinking about plants and light this week, it occurred to me that today’s post is actually the 400th one I’ve written here at Confessions. Four hundred chances to pause, notice something about life, and share it with all of you. If you’ve been reading or listening along the way, I just want to say: Thank you so much for your light. I really appreciate you.

Next week, we’re going to be talking about looking in the mirror. I’m not going to lie, I’d much rather talk about plants than mirrors, but growth is growth, TeamConfessioners. Hope you can join us next time and thanks for listening.