A few years ago, a client gave me a small shamrock plant for St. Patrick’s Day. It had 6 or 8 stems and was just small and sweet enough to be really pleasing.

My office at the time had a tiny window, so although I kept the shamrock alive, it wasn’t thriving. That changed last year, when I moved to a new office suite that is full of wonderful, natural light. My little plant came alive, growing 12 stems at one point. It continued to give me joy.

Then, by this February, the little shamrock was down to two stems, and one of them wasn’t looking so good. I had the great fortune of spending time with a dear friend and former mentor who, I noticed, had two huge and happy shamrocks growing in her sunroom. I asked her secret to them thriving, and her response was, “Love.”

I chuckled, but she meant it. She also told me that shamrocks are tougher than I think and to try repotting it to see if it would help.

I came home and dutifully placed my sad shamrock into a new pot.

Within days, new stems were popping up right and left. Now, a month later, my shamrock not only has close to two dozen stems, it is flowering.

It is happy, and so am I. Love does, indeed, make a difference.

Other friends who are humoring my excessive interest in my little gift tell me that shamrocks tend to die back, then regrow. There is a cycle to their lives, but they are resilient and will come back again.

I think we as a society are getting repotted right now. Things will change in our lives, as they must and really should.  And, we will regrow again. We will bloom.