The Most Important Homework when working with me: Notice What You Notice
- Jan 16
- 2 min read
When I work with plants—whether through flower essences, plant spirit medicine, or energetic support—people often come in with a very specific intention.
“I want help with anxiety.”
“We’re here for sleep.”
“I need support with grief.”
“My child’s tantrums are overwhelming.”
Intentions matter.
They give the work a direction.
But one of the first things I share with my patients is this:
Plants don’t always work the way our minds expect them to.
And that’s why the most important homework I will ever give you is very simple, but very powerful:
Notice what you notice. Not what you think should change.
Not what you’re hoping will change.
Just… notice.
Plants Are Intelligent — and They See the Whole Picture
Plants are not linear.
They don’t look at you and say, “Okay, we’re only addressing this one symptom.”
They meet the whole system—body, emotions, nervous system, spirit—and they often begin where the greatest opening is.
Sometimes that means they work directly on the thing you came for.
Sometimes they work on something underneath it.
Sometimes they work on something completely different… and yet the original issue softens or resolves anyway.
I’ve seen this over and over again.
When Words Don’t Quite Fit (And That’s Okay)
One of the challenges with this work is that we don’t always have the right language for what’s happening.
People will say things like:
“I feel grounded, but energized at the same time.”
“I don’t know how to explain it… I just feel in love with the day.”
“Everything feels quieter inside, but in a good way.”
These aren’t clinical terms.
They’re lived experiences.
And they matter.
You don’t need perfect words.
You don’t need to analyze it.
Your practitioner doesn’t need it to sound a certain way.
We want it exactly as you experienced it, however that comes out.
When the Shift Isn’t What You Expected
Some of the most powerful moments in this work happen when someone says:
“We actually came in for something else… but his massive tantrums stopped entirely.”
Or:
“I realized halfway through the week that I hadn’t been clenching my jaw.”
Or:
“Nothing dramatic happened, but everything feels easier.”
This is why noticing is so important.
If you’re only tracking the original complaint, you might miss the deeper regulation, the nervous system settling, the emotional resilience that quietly took root.
And those shifts?
They’re often the ones that create lasting change.
This Is a Relationship, Not a Prescription
Working with plants is a relationship. A conversation. An unfolding.
Your role in that relationship isn’t to judge the experience or decide whether it “worked.”
Your role is to witness it.
To notice:
Changes in mood
Changes in reactions
Changes in sleep, dreams, patience, creativity
Changes that feel subtle, surprising, or hard to name
Even noticing nothing is information.
So That’s the Homework
If you’re working with me, or with plants in any form, here it is again:
Notice what you notice.
Write it down if that helps.
Say it out loud.
Sit with it quietly.
And then tell your practitioner—in your own words, in your own way.
Because the plants are always communicating.
And noticing is how we learn to listen.
