Radish and
Accomplishment
Raphanus sativus
Radishes are vegetables often relegated to second-string status. They may show up on the vegetable tray or as a few slices tossed into a salad. You wouldn’t know this from the usual grocery store collection, but radishes come in many beautiful colors, shapes, and sizes. Check out a seed catalog and you’ll find a host of different-looking radishes with flavors ranging from mild to spicy. Radishes can be a vegetable dish in their own right; try steaming or roasting them. They can, of course, be included in other vegetable medleys as well. Eaten raw, they are a great low-calorie snack food with generous amounts of potassium, calcium, and vitamin C.
In the garden, radishes are one of the fastest-growing vegetables. They are often recommended for children’s gardens, as they reward impatient young gardeners with a harvest in just a few weeks. Older gardeners appreciate this trait as well.
The correspondence for radish is accomplishment. This reflects their quick harvest turnaround. Radishes give you an early boost of success as you wait for other crops to mature. Radishes also reflect a kind of overlooked accomplishment in how they are often passed over as vegetables. Their energy is about the small accomplishments we sometimes ignore.
You may downplay the mini-steps and small achievements that move you through life. It is easy to be so focused on a long-term goal that you don’t fully appreciate your small successes. While it is great to have big goals and projects, focusing on smaller, everyday accomplishments taps into the beauty of each moment.
When you tune in to life as it is unfolding, you begin to acknowledge all your efforts and accomplishments. There may be days when you feel off-balance
or under the weather, but you still go to work. There may be times in a busy household where you wish for peace and quiet, but you are patient with your family. You might be tired after a long day of work but still make time to check in with a friend or family member who is sick or feeling down. Each of these choices are accomplishments.
Radish energy also applies to recognizing the efforts of those around you and acknowledging that most people are doing the best they can at any given time. Appreciate whatever steps others are taking. If you are working to improve your community in some way, radish energy helps you celebrate incremental steps that take you closer to your larger goal. It is easy to feel frustrated that your life isn’t perfect; radish energy helps you acknowledge the successes already achieved.
Morning Attunement Questions
• What connections do I have with radishes and accomplishment?
• Where else in the green world or in my life do I observe accomplishment?
• What does this correspondence feel like?
• How can I describe this energetic attribute of accomplishment in words or pictures?
• Where does this correspondence of accomplishment resonate most strongly in or around my body or in my life?
Daily Integration Questions
• In what ways is the world reflecting radishes or accomplishment back to me?
• What nuances and shades of meaning do I notice about radishes and accomplishment?
Evening Reflection Questions
• Where and how did I experience radishes or accomplishment today?
• How did I embrace this attribute of accomplishment today?
• What wisdom does the radish’s correspondence of accomplishment bring to my life?