Fertilizing Yourself

The following article (originally titled "Do You Know How to Fertilize a Flat Belly?") by Jena La Flamme appeared in the July 2009 Alok Holistic Health e-newsletter (alokhealth.com)

If you've been reading my emails for a while, you may remember a confession I made a couple of years ago about killing half my houseplants. Yes, a widespread plant massacre occurred entirely due to neglect on my part. (Oops.) I was, um, yeah, "too busy" to water, remember to water them, I am a New Yorker remember, does that count as an excuse? (Yeah, right!)

Rest assured, I did change my ways after that and not one houseplant has died since. On the contrary, I have good news to report. One of the plants, an aloe vera plant, a hearty soul indeed, has not only survived, but has flourished! It came to me via an old roommate that was about to put it on the street as a giveaway, when I intercepted and adopted it for myself.

For two years, every time I moved, it moved with me, and over that time it grew a little, and to my delight, spawned one little off-spring plant, a cute baby aloe that lived with it in the pot.

Not so long ago, I noticed that the pot was low on soil, and so I bought some quality, fertilized potting soil and re-potted it. This was a few months ago, and now, all of a sudden, to my great surprise, six new plants have popped up within weeks!

This is totally unprecedented!

And it begs the question... What change sparked this creative activity?

It wasn't more sun, and it wasn't just more water, it was clearly...the fertilizer.

The difference astounded me. This was the only plant of my collection that I had given fresh, fertilized soil to, and it was the only one that had so drastically flourished.

It made me wonder, what if I fertilized my own soil better? How would I grow and spawn creations? What would fertilize me anyway, which foods, what thoughts, and which companionship would nourish me so?

What would renew me? What would refresh me? What would allow me to release the energy that's been stagnating within me for years? What would help me flush out all the new energy that I can feel pushing, yearning to circulate?

What would foster new ideas, new projects and new connections lurking within me, eager to germinate from seed to sprout?

And what about you?

Answering these same questions may not be as easy as going to the local hardware store to buy packaged fertilizer, but discovering your own brand or blend of fertilizer is well worthwhile. The right stuff will support you to be as expressive as my fertile little aloe vera, and with the heat of summer rising, it may be a good time to start looking at what you can add to your pot.