happiness clusters

It’s just about time to cuddle indoors, and saturate our homes with the aroma of savory late-fall recipes. Especially around this time of year, midwesterners tend to be very aware of how shifting temperatures transform our indoor and outdoor spaces. Weather-triggered memories remind us of common recurring joys and struggles that come bundled with the seasonal changes. No matter how different we may be from our neighbors, weather is one locally shared challenge in our daily midwestern lives. We have an instilled awareness of the harsh realities and unexpected obstacles that remain unavoidable unless a strategic location change is incorporated. I’ve never met a fellow Chicagoan that was excited to say hello to their winter coat, and goodbye to outdoor fun in the sun. Mourning summer’s warmth as it slips away seems to come along with living in Chicago, but at the same time, if seasonal pain points were subtracted from the annual cycle, some of us would secretly miss them.

Choosing to remain residents in this region, through all 4 seasons, year after year has inevitably forced midwesterners to be tuned into the calendar’s full range of messy weather details. It’s hard out there for a plant living in USDA Hardiness Zone 5. Birth, growth, flower, death, seed, repeat. Much like parents raising children, growers experience many joyous joys and painful pains while nurturing seedlings to build the strength necessary to successfully withstand the fierce ups and downs of plentiful seasonal stresses. From the majestic mature trees that stand taller than our homes, to the most modest petite hidden spring blooms, our plants become important family members. Together we grow, flourish, protect, experience hardship, find maturity, make babies, fight through storms, and eventually become weathered, and too tired to continue standing.

Dealing with a vast range of seasonal changes is valuable training for both humans and plants. We learn to prepare for hardship, and not be defeated by challenging surprises along the way. These learning experiences enable helpful foresight. A bank full of impactful good and bad memories is a useful resource to tap into. The negative memories remind us of past damages, help to inspire better decision making, and remind us to brace for upcoming bumps in the road. On the opposite end, the positive memories we keep alive prolong the glow that lives in the aftermath of our joyous experiences. They are the spark that ignites burning excitement for future possibilities.

When we look for advice, knowledge, comfort, and inspiration we tend to look to other humans (or spiritual beings shaped like humans) to see what we can borrow or learn from to help us shape our own choices. That makes total sense! BUT, rather than looking for man-made solutions, what if next time you look to nature instead? I’m almost certain there are no plants that have the ability to chat, preach, write books, or maintain social media accounts. All species tend to be humbly quiet, but regardless of their silence, plants still pass along much wisdom for free, and expect nothing in return. If you are capable of observation then you probably already noticed how freakishly smart plants are. Beauty, strategery, strength, teamwork, brilliance: these are just a small handful of the miraculous assets that make plant life totally worth observing.

Unfortunately as the weather becomes more painful, we tend to spend the majority of our free time under a roof, in the presence of a couch, with multiple screens, and a mandatory accessible internet connection. Socializing is done online, peer interaction happens from a distance, media is shared digitally, exploration only exists virtually. Is this really more desirable than breathing fresh air, and experiencing life multi-dimensionally? We have the freedom to roam with exploratory wonder far away from tedious tasks and haunting piles of adult obligations. Taking a break to escape daunting monotony is a necessity that I personally need to incorporate more often. As a tree-hugger who is prone to anxiety, I try to partake and include anyone who will join me in any kind of outside activity, daily, no matter what the weather’s like. Digging in the thawing spring dirt, soaking up warm summer sun, jumping in the fallen autumn leaves, shoveling piles of winter snow… no matter what the circumstances, there’s always something to appreciate in nature every time we go outside.

Often I find myself hunting for new inspiration, and for now that process involves putting forth active effort to not end up doing chores while simply walking outside with my eyes open, looking for cool things that are alive. Collecting souvenirs along the way helps me remember intrigue, continue the celebration, and sprinkle our indoor surroundings with some of nature’s magic. Similar to how floral centerpieces create a focal point of beauty for dining wedding guests, collected treasures from nature adventures become happiness clusters around our house. The harder it becomes to forget the to-do list and find creative fun hiding among the cold winter grayness, the more pop-up splashes I install in dark corners & on empty tables in our house… because, why not? Currently, it seems to help, and for that and much more, I’m incredibly thankful.

My obsession with collecting simple pleasures that I cross paths with in nature, and plucking pieces from the scene of a moment worth remembering to create happiness clusters around the house has led me to think deeper about my content choices… Yes, memories are cool, but maybe I should consider the future more rather than looking back on the past. Can moods be altered by the presence of certain flower species? And if so, it’s time for a new hunt!

To be continued :)