A bigger pot

I repotted some plants the other day, something that had been long overdue. When I pulled them out of their old pots, their roots which had of course kept growing all this time, were a tight tangle that had grown into the shape of the pots. It’s quite incredible they were still alive really, but needless to say, they weren’t thriving. Since having been transplanted into bigger quarters, these plants have burst into life - sprouting a multitude of new leaves.

This made me think about life; about how we sometimes squeeze ourselves into things that no longer fit: ...

 jobs, relationships, physical spaces, jeans. Especially jeans.

Actually, it’s not so much that we squeeze ourselves into these things. No, we’re more like plants in that regard. Often things fit perfectly fine to begin with – we’re in the right sized pot, so to speak. But then we grow and suddenly there’s a little pinch here and a little cramped feeling there.

Of course, those feelings can be ignored for a while, but the longer we do, the more we begin to resemble my poor pot plants – our desires squashed, our dreams hemmed in. And the longer we stay in this situation, the more we get used to it. We may feel a little tightness in the chest, but it’s been there for as long as we can remember so, it’s probably normal.
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I think we sometimes equate outgrowing things with failure. We say things to ourselves like: ‘Five years ago this job was a dream come true, so why is it that I don’t like it anymore today?’

​The thing is: life is change.
And if lived fully, life means continuous growth. Of course, we can clip our roots; we can keep ourselves small. We can stop the flow and suffocate the flame within.
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Or we can listen to the tightness in our chest and say:
​Ah yes, it is time for a bigger pot! ​

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