We moved into our new home back in December 2020. One of the things we loved about this house was the backyard garden the previous owner maintained very well. The garden ran adjacent to the fence and it had a beautiful collection of plants that looked carefully curated for the space.
Since we moved in during a cold winter month, almost all of the plants were dormant. We knew spring had to roll in if we were to see them come to life. We could hardly wait!
Wait we did. And we were rewarded with blossoms for our eyes to feast on when spring finally dawned. In a matter of a few weeks, most burst into colorful flowers, others simply grew into majestic branches and leaves that were a sight to enjoy.
Except this one plant.
Located right in the middle of the strip of land, it's tall and skinny stalks extended in all directions. These dry projections were bundled together and tied to the fence by the previous owner in an effort to keep the plant from toppling over and falling into the yard.
We waited all through spring to see what this plant had in store for our senses, nothing happened.
Conversation began to decide the faith of this useless piece of eye-sore in an otherwise flourishing garden. We contemplated and even planned cutting it down and replacing it with another. What was the point of allowing it to occupy a center space here? And the toll it could be taking on the fence? It may bring about it's destruction with its unruly branches going everywhere! For what?!
Something in us said to wait. We wanted so badly to see what was worth about this plant that a man who diligently crafted and maintained a beautiful garden saw use in keeping it there, let alone going the extra mile and tying it to the fence.
Slowly, leaves began to emerge in late spring. We knew something was indeed happening. That the life force in this living being was not lost, merely taking its time to manifest.
May is about to say farewell, giving way to the summer months and this plant has now stepped into its grace. All the branches are bustling with life, gracefully swaying with the gentle breeze as I sit in the kitchen and admire it through the window. It is finally manifesting, life.
It may even have some flowers to smile through. What it does NOT have is any hurry or debilitating comparison to its fellow inhabitants of the garden. It's endowed with a higher knowing of its own unique nature, in flow with its individual purpose.
You know where I'm going with this.
We have the very same life force in action through us, and yet there is wisdom we have forgotten that this tree KNOWS very well.
First of all, why on earth do we humans forget that the life force that is within us all is the most intelligent force there is? We look around in nature and do not see mistakes, we know everything has majesty as it dances to it's own rhythm set alive by the universal flow. Yet we judge, compare, hurry, complain when it comes to ourselves and our fellow human Beings.
In us and others, we constantly mistake phases for eternity, waiting for giving up, dormant for dead, beauty for a mistake.
We constantly miss opportunities to believe in our growth and that of those around us. When we see temporary setbacks or simply seasons of rest and deliberation prescribed by life, we deem it laziness, ineptitude, failure.
Instead of tying a supportive knot onto a sturdy support until branches strengthen, we pick up a saw and cut away at the stem of one's existence with the black magic in our careless thoughts and words.
If it's not manifesting, we assume it's dead. We hurry life. We trust and wait not.
Next time you are contemplating on criticizing or giving up on yourself, think again. You are a blossom that knows when to dawn, independent to what others may be doing in their rhythms. You KNOW better than to envy or rush.
Next time you label a fellow human a failure, think again. They too are on a unique journey that is intelligently curated without err or delay.
May you have someone in your life that sees your purposeful potential and wait on you, support you, put you in the centre of their garden.
Even better, may you be that for yourself, and others.