Water, Wait, Grow

Lately, I’ve been gardening more and spending time outdoors, soaking up the sunshine, and reconnecting with nature (and of course wandering round garden centres). There’s something enjoyable about the rhythm of it all, planting seeds, watering, pulling weeds, and watching things grow at their own quiet pace. I’ve especially enjoyed the reward of harvesting homegrown veggies and cooking meals with ingredients straight from the garden. It’s been a peaceful experience—and it’s taught me a lot about growth in more ways than one.

We live in a world that wants everything fast—fast food, fast Wi-Fi, fast success. But growth? Real, meaningful, soul-deep growth? That doesn’t come with a same-day delivery option. It comes like a garden, slow, messy, and breathtakingly beautiful if you stick with it. The process isn’t linear. It's seasonal. And like any good gardener knows, it takes 2 key thing: patience and consistent nurture.

Let’s be honest… patience isn’t easy. We live in a world that thrives on immediate progress does not tend to value patience. So when it comes to personal growth or long-term goals, it can be incredibly frustrating not to see results straight away. True patience—the kind that stretches over weeks, months, or even years—takes real courage. It asks us to keep showing up, especially on the days when motivation is low and progress feels invisible. It requires a kind of quiet grit, the ability to stay committed even when things aren’t going the way we hoped.

I’ve been reminded of this constantly while tending to my garden. When I planted my first batch of seeds, I checked them every day, looking for signs of life. For weeks, nothing. Just soil. It would’ve been easy to assume nothing was happening. But beneath the surface, things were shifting—roots were forming, the foundation was being laid. Some seedlings poked through earlier than others, and some took their time. And that’s exactly how growth works, whether we’re talking about plants or people.

Just because you can’t see visible change doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. Progress often starts underground, quietly and out of sight. Learning to trust that is one of the hardest and most valuable lessons patience can teach us.

Patience is important, but it’s only part of it. Growth doesn’t happen through waiting alone—we also need to do. Just like plants won’t thrive if left completely unattended, neither will we. Seeds need more than time; they need the right conditions to grow. That’s where nurture comes in.

This has become really clear to me since I started gardening. I water my plants regularly, check their leaves for signs of stress or disease, protect them from pests and weather, and even talk to them (a habit my granny insists makes a difference!) They need sunlight, space, and care. And when I think about it, so do I.

We often forget that we need nurturing too. Not only the basics like sleep, food, and water—though those matter a lot—but emotional and mental care as well. We need encouragement, support, boundaries, rest, and things that bring us joy. We need to listen to ourselves the way a gardener watches their plants—looking out for signs of burnout or imbalance, and responding gently.

It’s not always easy to prioritise ourselves this way. We’re used to pushing through, hustling harder, or telling ourselves we’ll rest “when things calm down.” But nurturing is essential. It’s what allows us to grow in a way that’s sustainable and meaningful. When we take the time to care for ourselves with the same attention and intention we give to a garden, we create the right conditions for real, lasting growth.

Ask yourself: what kind of “watering” do you need today? Maybe it’s a proper meal, some time offline, a walk outside, or a chat with someone who really sees you. Whatever it is, give yourself permission to tend to your needs. Like any living thing, you grow best when you’re cared for.

So yeah, maybe you’re not blooming yet. Maybe you’re just trying to get your roots down. That’s still progress. That counts. Just keep showing up for yourself in small, steady ways. Be patient. Be consistent. Be kind. Eventually, the sprouts come through. Maybe not today. Maybe not this month. But they do come.

And when they do? It’s worth every weird, muddy, uncertain day you spent getting there.

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