Cultivating Environments for Growth

A Journey by Jen Blog Post

Winemakers intrinsically understand the impact of the environment on flavor. The soil composition, rainfall, slope angle and direction, and pruning practices all influence the development of the grape. By stewarding conditions around their crop, vintners coax complexity and excellence from the vine.

As the winemaker stewards their terroir, we must thoughtfully curate the environments in which we grow in pursuit of our best potential. From friends who inspire our boldest visions to physical spaces eliciting ease and creativity; be intentional regarding the “climate” you dwell in daily. Redirect energy from people, places, and things leaving you parched. Instead, gravitate toward that which feeds and fuels your spirit.

Periodically, disrupt the familiar. Exploration awakens aspects of self lying dormant when we reside on autopilot for too long. Like terroir, fresh places and new communities introduce different elements, allowing additional flavors to emerge in us. The insights we glean, when transported beyond old narratives we recite about ourselves, unlock growth.

Upon returning home, examine which “vines” realized greater fruitfulness when exposed to new conditions. How can you infuse aspects of travels - revelations, connections, boldness - into your day-to-day to achieve consistent cultivation?

Live with the vintner’s eye toward stewarding your highest potential. Curate nourishing environments, selectively tend to vines showing promise, and retry fermenting dreams deemed impossible in climates past. Mastering adaption to present conditions, while optimizing for future growth, is the winemaker’s art; and the art of living well.

What richness will you coax from the grapes of your life this season? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Find more inspiration and insight at the Journey by Jen Podcast on YouTube.