I have a plant in my office named Amelia.  She’s a Ming Arelia and is a great resource to me throughout the day.  Whenever I want to recenter myself, she’s one of the places I focus my awareness.  I spend time looking at her beautiful color and shape and her presence calms me.  I also have Ming Arelias as home and regularly take cuttings I plant and offer to people I care about who are interested in having an Amelia of their own.

As I write this experiment, I’m looking at a recent cutting that sits on the windowsill in a glass container.  I notice that a new root has appeared just a week after I took the cutting, and I’m moved by the resilience that is constantly present in nature.  I experience a particular resilience in this plant whenever I see a cutting begin to grow roots.  It’s a metaphor for my sense of human resilience – that there is something deep in us that is always available to grow, repair, bounce back in positive, healthy, constructive ways.  I’m constantly moved by the mystery of the growth and renewal that are an inherent part of being physically alive.

During these difficult economic times and the stresses of a presidential election, it may be useful to remember how resilient we are at our core.  Whatever the external circumstances, we carry inside us the capacity to generate new roots, new growth.  This capability is hardwired into our body/mind being and invites us to be aware of, and supply, the kind of nourishment that supports our inherent resilience.

For this week’s experiment, you have an opportunity to discover ways that you can nourish your fundamental capacity to grow in the presence of challenging circumstances.  As I mentioned in last week’s experiment, we have the constant choice of returning to the present moment when we find ourselves swept away by thoughts and emotions of fear.  In a similar way, we have the constant choice of focusing on what nourishes our resilience, as I do with Amelia in my office. 

As you play with this experiment, take time to notice what happens in your body when you attune yourself to particular objects, people, non-human companions, memories, places or situations that nourish and inspire you.  As you explore your sensations, you’ll become familiar with which sources of nourishment best suit you.  Also pay attention to the quality of your thoughts and feelings as you focus your awareness on particular resources in your life and environment.  Then, develop the habit of returning to these resources whenever you need to recenter yourself, whenever you feel depleted by life’s challenges or caught up in a fear response.  Notice what happens over time as you consistently choose to focus on what nourishes you.

As with all the experiments, there are no right answers, no correct resources.  There is only another opportunity to become consciously aware of the impact of your choices on the quality of your day-to-day life.