My interest in plant wisdom didn’t come all at once. It arrived slowly, in the background of daily life—through childhood gardens, through time spent all over the world looking, listening, and chatting, it came through watching how cooks, farmers, and herbalists worked with plants, in collaborations with ecologists and artists who shifted the way I paid attention. Over time, the plants themselves became the teachers, showing me how relationship grows through observation, season after season.
This is why beginning this month I’d like to sit with you and the plants in, Unfolding Aliveness: Collective Plant Sits—a shared practice in being with plants, noticing their rhythms, and seeing what happens when we make space for slowness. It’s not about learning facts or gathering knowledge, but about presence—tuning in to what’s already there. This group will meet once a month and I invite you come as often as you like, whether it be each month or once in a while.
And with that in mind I’ve included a meditation to get you ready, open up a little space, and just that kind of length you can use in-between things to return to the present. Below are a few instructions to get you started.
Breath is one of the simplest yet most profound anchors we have in meditation. It is always with us, a steady rhythm amidst the fluctuations of daily life. In this guided meditation, we will explore the breath as a way to cultivate attention and presence. This practice accompanies recent reflections on paying attention—on what it means to truly notice the world around us and within us. By gently turning toward the breath, we create space to observe without judgment, to simply be with what is. Whether you're new to meditation or have an established practice, this session is an invitation to settle in and reconnect with the quiet constancy of your breath.
Before we begin, take a moment to find a comfortable position—sitting, lying down, or even walking, whatever supports your body and allows you to be at ease. This meditation is not about changing the breath but rather about noticing it as it naturally flows in and out. Together, we will follow a single breath from beginning to end, bringing curiosity to its sensations, its temperature, its movement. And when the mind inevitably wanders, as all minds do, we will gently invite our attention back with kindness. This is the practice—returning, again and again, to the breath. Let’s begin.
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