Vines: What Would a Plant Do?

My mother always grew Morning Glories around my childhood home. In my fast paced childhood, I can remember thinking “When I’m older and have nothing else to do, I’m gonna sit and watch those vines reach out and grab the next link in the fence.”

How do they know where to go? Do they look all around and think critically about what to cling to? Do they judge other vines for blowing freely in the wind? Nah…know what they do? They follow nourishment. They rise and reach, grab and spiral, bask in the sun and grow. It’s instinct.

You have instinct too. In fact, you are closer to that plant than you think. When I find myself in a tailspin, I actually think to myself “What would a plant do?” I know that sounds a little crazy but this kind of simplicity is so imperative, especially in a “complex” situation. At the very least, I am able to remember, in that moment, to do things like hydrate, get outside, be quiet, feel the breeze on my face, ground myself, trust my roots and look for nourishment.

Even outside of a crisis, this is still good advice. Remember your roots even though they are under the surface. Stretch and reach. What direction feels natural? Where are your secure strongholds? Who nourishes you?

I tell you what, I am really feeling this Roots and Vines vibe. It’s the depth I’ve been searching for in the newest chapter of Hot Tomato. The stories. The connections. The simplicity of following what feeds you. Also, while you’re busy being a plant, why not be a Tomato? Booking for the new year now.

“Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify, simplify! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb-nail.” Henry David Thoreau

Written by hottomatopinupacademy8

Founder and former co-owner of Hot Tomato Pin-Up Academy,