Why My Garden & Toddler Are Better Than Any Social Media Influencer I Follow

Friday Glimmers: Teachings from My Garden & My Toddler

When the world stops inspiring me, I find myself turning to my garden and my toddler. And somehow, they never fail me.
A few reflections on this Friday : little lessons from the soil, the blooms, and the silly giggles of my tiny human.

On My Love-Hate Relationship with Social Media

Not gonna lie, I’ve had a complicated relationship with social media for a while. Half my friends have slowly ghosted off the grid, and honestly, I admire them. I’ve tried it too. Every time I detox, my system returns to an indescribable peace. Homeostasis, if you will. After a few days, I don’t even miss it.

Occasionally, I like posting silly videos of me, my son, our little life … and then I don’t. Sometimes I absolutely hate it. Since last year, I’ve done several month-long detoxes and honestly, best decision ever.

Each time I return and feel like crap, I’m reminded why I left. It’s like an unconscious tic: pick up the phone, scroll, zone out. Why? For what? No clue. Just a mindless doom-scroll ritual. Usually an escape, if I’m being honest.

But detoxing has given me the gift of noticing the gap. I’m more aware of the gap now. When I reach for my phone, I am able to pause and ask myself: Why am I doing this? What thought was I having just before? What value am I bringing to life? I’m learning to finish that answer in my head.

The challenge is to sit with the discomfort and the silence. Use quiet moments like sitting in traffic to ask: How do I feel right now, in this very moment? What’s going on inside me?

It’s hard. But one of my favorite mantras is this: Hard now, Easy later.
So choose your hard. :)
I could be a little crazy to say this, but I love the challenge.

The Garden Doesn’t Try to Be Inspirational. It Just Is.

We’re drowning in curated content. Beautifully edited highlight reels. Aesthetic lives. And yet, none of it feels inspiring (to me) anymore. Not out of envy - just sheer boredom.

How sad is it that the very things created to entertain us are starting to bore us?

There are only so many perfect little humans and their lives I need to witness.

The push toward overconsumption is exhausting. Do we really need another pair of jeans in the same shade? (Guilty.)

So now, more than ever, I’ve challenged myself to turn inward. And outward. To my garden. To my toddler.

Honestly, the real highlight reel is blooming outside my window all along.

Quiet Reflections from the Garden ( Lovely Metaphoric Life Lessons)

1. With the right environment, anything can bloom.
   A little love, attention, and the right conditions - and life shows up. A literal lemon from a tiny sapling makes me giddy with joy. (Is it a lime or a lemon? The debate is still open. But the joy of manifesting life from intention is real.)

2. Everything is part of an ecosystem.
   Tending to my plants makes space for bees, butterflies, and birds. I can’t tell you how much joy it brings me to refill my bird feeder multiple times a week. They’re part of my family.

3. You don’t need to be an expert to begin.
   I knew nothing about gardening. I still don’t. I just started. There’s magic in honoring a wish and giving it a go. Growth begins there.

4. To thrive, you must prune.
   Dead leaves and withering stems drain energy. Letting go redirects it to what’s healthy and growing. Shedding isn’t loss. It’s nature. Cutting off parts of you that no longer add life sounds painful, but it’s necessary. Apply to life.

5. Even the healthiest blooms attract weeds.
   You can be thriving, and yet weeds still come. Bloom anyway. Beauty doesn’t stop just because there’s mess around it. Let a higher power handle the cleanup. (In this case, that power is me.)

Loud Reflections from a Toddler

1. Toddlers are tiny yet BIG mirrors.
   Whatever they say or do, they picked it up from somewhere. Often, from you. Cute. Alarming. Hilarious. They show you yourself, raw and unfiltered. The question is - now that you’ve seen it, what will you do with it?

2. Tantrums reveal your emotional capacity - or lack thereof.
   When you’re alone with a screaming, flailing toddler, it’s a masterclass in self-regulation. Nothing exposes you more vulnerably. You’re forced to face your own tools, or realize you never had them.
   This is your moment. Do better. At least try. You are the adult your inner child needed.
   Time to show up for both children. If not now, then when?

3. They live fully in the moment.
   They lose themselves in toy trucks, water, music, and imagination. No clock. No rush. Just presence. When did we, adults, lose this skill?

4. Their curiosity is divine.
   Their endless whys are not just questions. They’re portals. I believe curiosity is God’s greatest gift. Out of curiosity rises creativity and creation.

   And when you follow it deep enough, you realize most whys don’t have answers.
   (Don’t believe me? Try it. For every answer you give, ask another why. Keep going.)
   Surrender to the unknown. It’s hard. But again, choose your hard.

5. Their love is unconditional.
   As adults, consciously or unconsciously, we chase validation, approval of others. And yet, the purest, judgment-free form of love is right there in your toddler’s eyes & presence. I hope you learn to accept the love that is being given to you.
   (When I first heard this, it brought tears to my eyes - so now I share it with you.)
   Let it in. Let it heal you.

6. They see you as magic.
   Tired, messed up, unsure - and still, to them, you are perfect. You’re their whole world. Their hero. What an honor. Don’t take it lightly.

7. Joy is simple and sacred.
   Their giggles, their wonder… it’s the sound of life. I could listen to my child’s belly giggles on repeat forever. Let that joy tattoo your soul so it carries through every lifetime.

If You’ve Felt Uninspired Lately… Try These Instead of a Doom Scroll

A few things I’ve been loving lately. They’ve fed my mind, body, and soul. I don’t believe in unintentional consumption, but there is beauty in sharing things that can help or better the ones who need it the most.

Podcasts
(Yes, on a Huberman kick lately - can you blame me?)

• Huberman Lab: Healing from Grief & Loss with Dr. Mary-Frances O’Connor - Grounding and profound. We’ll all face grief. Better to be equipped than fall apart in the moment of impact. Whether you have lost someone, something or just lost in life it’s a beautiful conversation.

• Huberman Lab: How to Grow by Doing Hard Things with Michael Easter - This one influenced me, aligned with me. Growth is doing hard things. I picked up his book after this. See below.

• Huberman Lab: Therapy, Treating Trauma, and Other Life’s Challenges with Dr. Paul Conti - One of the best episodes on how trauma shapes us. Most of us don’t even know how deeply. It’s good to recognize your blind spots. Don’t shy away from the word “ trauma”.

Books

• The Road Less Traveled - Third read. Still changing me. A must for any parent, partner, or human. This book continues to heal me, help me understand in ways I can’t put in words.

• The Women by Kristin Hannah - Fiction. I’m late to her books, but now I get why this one is so highly recommended along with her other books. I’m halfway through and can’t put it down.

• The Comfort Crisis - A powerful reminder that doing hard things is part of our biological blueprint. The concept of Misogi really stuck with me.

Supplement

• Ashwagandha - I know, I know. But trust me. For brain fog, anxiety, and exhaustion, you need that energy to feel like yourself - this one works.

Movie

• Materialist - Pedro Pascal. That’s reason enough. The rest of the cast is great too. And if you’re a girl? Her wardrobe is another reason to watch.

Music

• Experience by Ludovico Einaudi - Headphones on, world off. Even better yet, put on your shoes and run. Let that energy move through your body. It really is an experience.

• 40 HZ Binaural beats - For focus - The way I get things done when I need deep focus. Try it on You Tube.

Powerful Tools: EDMR Therapy- Mind-blowing. I will never stop talking about this one. Look into it. Experience it for yourself.

If you’ve tried any of these, let me know. Or share your own gems with me. I’d love to try them.

Go get yourself some flowers. Treat your self ;-)

Cheers,
Until next time,
Rani