Nurturing Relationships with Thich Nhat Hanh’s ‘Watering the Flowers’ Practice l S2E087
In this episode of A Call for Love, host Linda Orsini shares a simple yet powerful mindful practice from the beloved Thich Nhat Hanh that can transform your relationships—starting today.
It’s called “watering the flowers”—a mindfulness practice that helps you nurture love, deepen connection, and remind the people in your life that they matter.
Linda walks you through five clear, actionable steps to bring more presence, appreciation, and kindness into your daily interactions. You’ll hear personal reflections, practical examples, and a gentle reminder that when we take time to see the good in others—and say it out loud—we’re not just helping them grow... we’re growing too.
This is your invitation to create stronger, more heartfelt relationships—one loving moment at a time.
From Linda’s heart to yours, this is your call for love.
Read the blog at https://www.globalwellnesseducation.com
About Linda:
Have you ever battled overwhelming anxiety, fear, self-limiting beliefs, soul fatigue or stress? It can leave you feeling so lonely and helpless. We’ve all been taught how to be courageous when we face physical threats but when it comes to matters of the heart and soul we are often left to learn, "the hard way."
As a school teacher for over 30+ years, struggling with these very issues, my doctor suggested anti-anxiety medication but that didn't resonate with me so I sought the healing arts. I expanding my teaching skills and became a yoga, meditation, mindfulness, reiki and sound healer to step into my power and own my impact.
A Call for Love will teach you how to find the courage to hold space for your fears and tears. To learn how to love and respect yourself and others more deeply.
My mission is to guide you on your journey. I believe we can help transform the world around us by choosing love. If you don’t love yourself, how can you love anyone else? Join a call for love.
Website - Global Wellness Education
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Transcript
Welcome friends. Welcome to A Call for Love. Today we are
Speaker:going to water the flowers, not the flowers in your garden,
Speaker:but the flowers of our relationships, and
Speaker:this practice has actually been created by Thich Nhat
Speaker:Hanh. If you're not familiar with Thich Nhat Hanh, he was
Speaker:a beautiful, beautiful being, and he
Speaker:was actually nicknamed or lovingly called Thay,
Speaker:which means teacher in Vietnamese, and he was born
Speaker:in 1926 in Central Vietnam and passed
Speaker:away in January 2022 at the age of
Speaker:95. He was a Buddhist monk, peace
Speaker:activist, poet, and teacher of mindfulness, and he
Speaker:brought ancient wisdom into our modern world. He
Speaker:was such a beautiful being. I know
Speaker:many people who have met him. I unfortunately have
Speaker:not or did not, and I've watched many
Speaker:of his YouTube videos, and I've read many of his
Speaker:books. I have recently finished No Mud, No
Speaker:Lotus, and he embodied
Speaker:everything that he talked. In fact, I would almost
Speaker:call him, and many people would call him, an enlightened being of our
Speaker:time, because if you Google enlightenment or
Speaker:look it up, it actually means presence, compassion,
Speaker:wisdom, peace, and deep understanding. And Thich Nhat
Speaker:Hanh had all those. He was a very
Speaker:peaceful, kind, and gentle man.
Speaker:He talked very slow, very softly.
Speaker:He embodied all those qualities,
Speaker:and he actually spent a lot of his life in exile
Speaker:because of his resistance during the Vietnam
Speaker:War, but then when it ended, he
Speaker:soon founded Plum Village in France, which my
Speaker:sister has actually visited, and he created a
Speaker:community there of mindful living. He was
Speaker:all about mindfulness and living in the present moment,
Speaker:just a beautiful soul, and so today I
Speaker:want to share this practice with you. It's called watering the
Speaker:flowers, And so you may think, well, what does that mean?
Speaker:I mean, I guess you could think of our relationships like
Speaker:seeds, and in order for our relationships to
Speaker:grow and flourish, they take and they
Speaker:require attention, just like watering flowers.
Speaker:We want to just sprinkle
Speaker:love, joy, generosity, compassion,
Speaker:patience to our relationships because that's what seeds
Speaker:need. They need fertilizer, sun,
Speaker:air, all the qualities that a seed needs to
Speaker:grow. Well our relationships need those qualities as
Speaker:well. And so today we're going to think about
Speaker:those relationships that need a little bit more
Speaker:TLC. And we go through seasons in our lives,
Speaker:you know, some seasons where we are depending on
Speaker:our friends or those we care about, and they are
Speaker:nurturing us. And then other times,
Speaker:those people require our groundedness,
Speaker:our sense of generosity, of loving kindness. And
Speaker:so this is the practice for watering your
Speaker:flowers. So the first step is, to
Speaker:pause, to just stop and bring to mind somebody. So
Speaker:you can make this intentional. You know, today I'm going to
Speaker:water the flowers of a relationship and then bring to
Speaker:mind somebody who you want to bestow that upon,
Speaker:or it could be somebody who really reaches out to you
Speaker:or somebody that you may be having a challenge with. And so you're
Speaker:going to pause and reflect. Who is this person
Speaker:that you would like to generally show
Speaker:appreciation to?
Speaker:And pause and really reflect upon that. This does not take a lot
Speaker:of time, it takes intention. So think about the
Speaker:person. You can do this as I as I share the steps.
Speaker:Think about who you would like to show
Speaker:love to in this moment and today. The
Speaker:second of the five steps is when you think of
Speaker:this person, think of the good that they do. Now,
Speaker:it's really important to be authentic,
Speaker:honest, and true. So when you think of the person,
Speaker:you're going to specifically think of their
Speaker:attributes that not maybe that you
Speaker:admire, but that you appreciate, that you value, and that you
Speaker:see. Everyone wants to be seen, heard, respected, and loved,
Speaker:as I say in the intro to this podcast, A Call for Love. And so
Speaker:what you wanna do is you wanna name this goodness.
Speaker:Alright? And be specific. Be honest.
Speaker:The clearer you are, the deeper it will land for the other
Speaker:person. And the third one is say it out
Speaker:loud or share it in writing. You know, if you think how
Speaker:many times do you think something so kind about somebody
Speaker:else and then it just stops there? Well, this
Speaker:is the opportunity to take that step to actually
Speaker:share it with them. So you could say it out loud, you can write a
Speaker:text. You know, personally, these days, I am just
Speaker:loving these voice audio recording. I like it
Speaker:because I feel like I won't be misunderstood that the
Speaker:person can hear the tone of my voice and my intention.
Speaker:I feel it is more personal and it's more warmth
Speaker:to it, and so you can use that as a
Speaker:sharing. And then be present, You know?
Speaker:When the person responds, or better yet, in person,
Speaker:let them share when they're ready. People have a
Speaker:hard time. Also, you have to appreciate people have a hard
Speaker:time accepting that lovingkindness,
Speaker:and so I've often said to people, Let me let me
Speaker:give you an example. You know, if I say to somebody, You know what? I
Speaker:really appreciated when you explained
Speaker:what happened. You know, it made me feel
Speaker:very validated, and I noticed that you're
Speaker:so conscientious when you think of other people. You know, you put
Speaker:other people first in their needs, and I really felt that, and
Speaker:I appreciate that. And then the other person might
Speaker:say, oh, no. It's no problem. You know? Anyone would have done it.
Speaker:Whatever. And I say, no. You know? I really mean that. I I hope
Speaker:you I hope you hear that, and I hope you can
Speaker:can just say thank you. Like, how hard is it for us to
Speaker:accept thank you? Especially if we're saying something so
Speaker:kind about somebody else, it actually makes them feel uncomfortable.
Speaker:It's easier to give a compliment than to
Speaker:receive a compliment, so stay present with the person
Speaker:after you share that kindness that you have offered
Speaker:them. And then make it a habit. Like, you know, once a
Speaker:day, choose somebody's Choose somebody in your relationships
Speaker:that you want to sprinkle or water their flowers.
Speaker:Water the flowers of loving kindness and
Speaker:choose somebody each time. I really I know a
Speaker:couple people, and my husband is one of them. You know, he makes friends
Speaker:with everybody. And how hard is
Speaker:it to just share a loving
Speaker:kindness comment to even a stranger? Somebody at
Speaker:the grocery store, or somebody at checkout, or somebody
Speaker:on your trails, you know. It just
Speaker:changes everybody's day. And so this is what I propose to
you today:water somebody's flowers. It's the perfect time.
you today:Any moment becomes the best moment. So these
you today:are the five steps. Again, I'm going to just share them again. First of
you today:all, pause and reflect which
you today:relationship you would like to nurture in this moment. It could come like
you today:a snap. You could be out and, you know, just passing by somebody
you today:saying a kind comment. Name the goodness that you want to
you today:share authentically. Be honest.
you today:Be specific. You can say it out loud or
you today:write it down. So often, we say it in our heads, but, no,
you today:we want to verbalize it outside and then share it. Stay
you today:present as the person receives it, and
you today:then if you can, make it a habit. You
you today:might want to even ask yourself each morning, Whose flower
you today:can I water today? What a beautiful intention.
you today:Right? I was saying to somebody the other day, and I've said it here on
you today:the podcast, when I wake up in the morning, I put my
you today:first foot down on the ground and I say thank, and then I put my
you today:second foot down on the ground and I say you. Thank
you today:you. Thank you. Choose somebody to say thank
you today:you for being in your life, and you know, it
you today:might be somebody who we think of just in a moment's notice,
you today:or it could be somebody who we're thinking of because they're going through a hard
you today:time. I always feel like love is a boomerang.
you today:Whatever you give out comes back to you, and that's what we want to
you today:do. This is what a call for love is. It's about sharing
you today:love. What else is more
you today:important? Of course, health. You know, you need all
you today:those things, but in the end, love is everlasting. It's
you today:one of the highest vibrations. So in a world that fixates
you today:on things that are wrong, this really asks
you today:us to do the right thing, to
you today:share loving kindness with others, to help others grow.
you today:And when we help others grow, we grow too. Right? Thit Nat
you today:Han reminds us, when you plant lettuce, if it does not grow well,
you today:you don't blame the lettuce. You look for reasons it did not go
you today:well. Yet if we have problems with our friends or family, we
you today:blame the other person. But if we know how to take care
you today:of them, they will grow well like the lettuce. That's what Thich Nhat
you today:Hanh says. So let us water the flowers
you today:of our relationships that surround us gently,
you today:intentionally, and often, you know, really spreading
you today:that love outward. This is just a short love
you today:letter from me to you to water the
you today:flowers of your relationships. It doesn't take
you today:long, but it goes far. So
you today:from my heart to yours, namaste.
