Love Yourself! newsletter # 10 – Welcome to the propagation station of self-love

love yourself #10

How many (alive) plants do you have in your home right now?

I’ve never considered myself someone with a “green thumb.” I get easily distracted and overwhelmed, and plants are the first thing in my life to get neglected, which is fine, they’re just plants, but I do care about them and they often bring me an incredible amount of joy.

What really hooked me was experimenting with water propagation. It gives me such quick gratification since I can watch the roots grow and stretch before any leaves or blooms. Seeing the rapid change is enough to keep me interested and engaged.

I’d started with veggies in the kitchen, and as I shared here, it genuinely made me feel like a better person, growing my own little window garden that contributed to my family’s meals. Then I moved on to easy plants that could be propagated using simple cuttings, like Pothos and Snake Plants.

I picked up a Golden Pothos at a local nursery for my birthday a couple of months ago and cut up one of the long vines to fill a 15-tube propagation station and it instantly became my favorite thing on the wall. Living art, I adore it. And I literally bounced up and down with excitement when I saw the first roots forming, which, miraculously, all 15 babies sprouted roots, making my first “large-scale” water propagation 100% successful! Now I get to spread these new little plants around my home, ones that I grew, which feels quite rewarding for not much actual work or money.

Having plants around the house is not only a pretty decoration that triggers feel-good hormones because you like them and they make you happy, but they have real, science-backed benefits to you and your family’s health.

Plants have been found to be beneficial in hospitals and care centers, helping speed healing and promote calmer environments, helping students stay more attentive and productive in class, or lending to workers being more productive in less-than-ideal working environments.

Just being around living plants can improve your quality of life and sense of well-being. As easy as they are to come by, and as simple as some are to keep at your desk, there’s no excuse not to get yourself one, a dozen, or however many you can realistically fit into your routine.

 

🌈Support queer folks!🌈

Do yourself a favor and preorder COLOR TASTE TEXTURE, “an accessible family cookbook that offers solutions rather than tricks to empower the food-averse, autistic, and picky eater.” by Matthew Broberg-Moffitt


Can you spot the 10 differences? 

(One is quite difficult to see unless you’re on a bigger screen, try opening this email in your browser and zooming in.) 

 

 

 



 

Letters to the editor: “Will artificial intelligence take my job?”


Hey editors,

I’m a long-time reader who loves what you’re doing. I’m wondering if all the hype surrounding AI is warranted. I keep seeing article after article saying AI’s going to take human jobs in every sector.

But nobody’s writing about my job and I have to admit, I’m a bit concerned. So, here’s my question: will artificial intelligence take my job?”

Love always,

GOD

Hi God! Thanks for the kind words. I’ll cut right to the chase because I know you’re infinitely busy. Your concern hasn’t been misplaced.

(continue reading here)


Did you know? 🧠

Hi Felicia!

In the early ’70s a group of physicists from the National Accelerator Laboratory in Illinois purchased a ferret for $35, diapered it, and trained it to pull a string attached to a custom cleaning swab through tubes of a particle accelerator in order to flush out debris that would interfere with their beams.

The ferret, which they named Felicia, wouldn’t enter the four-mile-long main vacuum tube, but the process of training the ferret to clean the separated tubes inspired them to create a “magnetic ferret” with a similar setup, only using a magnet instead of the swab, which allowed them to clean out the main tube and continue their work.

Read the whole fascinating story here.

I show how I made this cute little DIY plant hanger while giving a pep talk about asking people you care about for validation to help build creative momentum in this YouTube video!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click the image to get yourself a set of these lovely affirmation cards ✨   

Thanks for reading, please subscribe here so you don’t miss an issue of the Love Yourself! newsletter.

 

 

Author

  • Nikki

    Nikki is a photographer, writer, artist, and advocate of radical self-love. She writes about mental health, gaming, sex, and inclusivity.

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5 reasons why you should start a mini water propagation garden today