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Leaves and Learnings
A hobby is pivotal to every human human’s life. Some read and transfer into a new world, others play games and learn strategizing alongside relaxing. It took me a while to find my footing but lately I have realized that a lush green garden - a small corner to call my own gives me unimaginable pleasure. The first leaf, the first flower, the first sapling gives me joy. And this joy comes from the fact that it is I who has given way to that life, rather contributed in some form.
During my short stint in this newfound hobby; jeez! I sound like a management professional and unfortunately there’s more coming – I have learnt a thing or two. Let me attempt to put pen to paper and collect these 3 thoughts for you and me to turn to in our times of contemplation.
1. “Har ped, jarurate anek” (Different plants, different requirements)
I almost killed my Aloe through over watering once! Spare me the curses – I was a noob back then! I assumed the amount of water my money plant requires (a good decent amount in a well-drained soil) would suit my poor Aloe. Of course, my Aloe was not vera(y) appreciative of this assumption.
Just like plants, we human beings too grow through our own separate ‘kits’ and ‘amounts’ of nourishments. Some of us require more tough love, others grow through guidance, some need apt attention, others do well when left alone (leave me alone, leave me alone!). Then why must you compare yourself with others?
Maybe, just maybe you are an Aloe, or maybe you a rice paddy that requires a lot of water? Understand your need, understand others have their own to tend to.
2. Same plant, different seasons…
Summers often call for extra watering as the soil dries a little too quickly and winters have the opposite effect. Ahh… rainy season and the humidity it brings makes some of the flowering plants like rain lilies so happy! Remember the bright green color on plants during monsoon? It’s the best!
Just like the environment of a plant defines its well-being and changes its needs – the same applies to your and my life. The company we keep, the contact we inhale, our environment – all these factors make us.
Keep it clean as per your needs, listen to your gut and there’s no stopping your growth.
3. In the end we all live symbiotic lives…
One day I noticed a few white spots on my beloved Brinjal plant. What more? These white spots were accompanied by very busy looking ants! On closer inspection (and obviously google – but let’s assume I’m all knowing and ignore this part?) I found that these spots were soft bodied insects called mealybugs that feed on plant juices and excrete honeydew! This honeydew is in turn ingested by ants. The fun part comes next. These ants ‘protect’ these bugs in exchange for the dew and even pick them up and place them on fresh leaves when the time comes. What a way to live? A great example of symbiosis!
Time and again, nature keeps teaching us how we are no different through these subtle examples. Don’t we humans also live symbiotic lives in a way? “No man is an island” – even if they tried!! In fact you can even say we feed off each other’s energies.
So, it will benefit us if we always remember that in the endgame we are all we have– Each other - and act accordingly!
When you really sit and think about it, Mother Nature has hidden cheat sheets for us to copy off. Right from the ungerminated seed, to a strong mature tree, we can go on our own treasure hunt and pick up these hidden gems.
By the end of this task, I realized how badly I needed to absorb this. Writing it down on paper helped me put some things into perspective. Hope these 3 observations by me provoke you to go on your hunt for wisdom – and the best part is – irrespective of the demand, the supply will always be high!