How to Kill an Air Plant

One would think that air plants would be very simple to keep alive.

They can exist in any type of container that allows them to have air.

They don’t require being repotted after they grow to a certain size.

They don’t require daily care.

They don’t require pruning, or not that I know of, at least.

I have read and heard that once they grow to a certain size, they multiply, producing baby air plants.

That’s always been my goal. To have a cute little baby air plant.

The problem lies in the fact that I can’t seem to keep an air plant alive long enough for it to grow large enough to multiply.

Despite my best efforts and multiple purchase acquisitions of air plants, I simply cannot keep them alive.

While I’d love to blame the quality of the plants that I’ve purchased or some other factor beyond my control, the truth is I simply forget to give the plant water. Not frequently, but intentionally, the plant requires misting or a brief immersion in water so that it has what it needs to thrive.

I walk by the sole surviving air plant multiple times a day and each time I think, “Hmmmm, it’s been so long since I cared for the plant. I really need to take just a few minutes and mist the darn thing.” Then, I keep walking and allow myself to get distracted by something else. The plant continues to go uncared for.

Our souls are the same way.

We must pay attention to the inner workings of OUR psyche so that we have what we need to live lives of contentment, peace, and joy.

Getting a handle on how we compare ourselves is a significant step in finding a pathway to peace.

When we compare ourselves to one another, we are focusing entirely too much on someone else’s circumstances, appearance, abilities, or stuff. A way to combat this? What if we stop paying so much attention to others and start focusing on ourselves, what it is we have and how it is we can use what we have to be OUR best self? What if we allow ourselves to stop being distracted by all that goes on around us and instead concentrate on doing the things that cause and allow us to grow? My guess is if we do this, that comparison trap will become less and less and our sense of fulfillment will be more.

We are each beautifully and wonderfully made in the divine image of Love.

Yet that image requires nurture and care.

Just like the air plant.

I’ll be purchasing another round of air plants soon. Because I am determined that at some point in my life I am going to have air plant babies. Maybe by then I’ll also have figured out how to nurture my own soul, be content with who I am and where I am, and experience the full joy that life has to offer.

What about you?

Psalm 139: 13-14

For it was you who formed my inward parts;

you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.