There is a plant container outside my kitchen window. It had a plant with red flowers and one time I actually saw a hummingbird come for a sip. This may not sound like a big deal, but I love hummingbirds. And flowers.
The plant had run its course and slowly died. Instead of immediately removing it from my sight, I spent a couple weeks looking at it in its withered state. Every time I looked at it, it 1) did not make me happy. 2) reminded me how I “don’t have time” to take care of it (familiar, isn’t it?) 3) brought death to mind (just what you want when doing dishes!).
It surprised me how when I took the whopping two minutes it took to take the container to the yard waste bin, dump it out, and put the empty container back, I felt so much better. I thought that an empty container would make me unhappier than the dead plant, but it was not so. Once the container was empty, there was no dead plant, and there was also the thought of and readiness for something alive and new.
Now, the container is there, again full of life. It’s a simple thing, but it creates good feelings inside of me.
