What we can learn from plants

The lady who sweeps and cleans around the office decided it was time to take a rest. She was a quiet lady minding her business and ever out of the way. In fact she used to clean after hours and nobody really knew her and what she did. Incidentally, that week I went away on some travels for 7 days. Upon my return, I was flabbergusted to see that my beautifully green and lively pot plant that sits on my desk which I got as a present, was wilted, tithering near dying. Most of the leaves were crusty brown and despite being a firm stemmed miniature tree, there was a slight lazy, tired, hanging look about it... clearly a spirit starved of nourishment... sad and fading! My eyes came close to watering, they did! It was like I was seeing my best friend in dire straits...

Tried I did to get water, think up mineral solutions to get my plant back to lively green again... get her spirit back to buoyancy yet again and put this pain behind.

Day one, add water... and nothing much a changin' ... my heart is aching, but I have to be strong, for my plant, for if I am strong... my plant will get strong

Day three... more water! I have by now cleared it of all the grey and crusty brown leaves leaving my plant only but a half skeletal form of her former lush self... but I see some thing which water's my spirit. I have to look hard and squint a little but I am convinced that it is there... yes, a little hint of a shoot.... indeed the slightest hint by it is there... my plant is showing some hint of returning. The few leaves that had survived are turning a nice shiny light green... and the dry branches are turning a brighter shade of brown with that ever so slight hint of some shoots at the end... have I ever smiled so broadly... shedding perhaps a tear as I do!

Day seven, more water and a whisper of encouragement... I hope noone is watching! It is official, she is coming back and I don't care that she is not looking like her former self... I know she is my good old plant and she is who she has always been... albeit scarred... grown... wiser... stronger and ready to live again

Day seven... I wonder how much more different people are to plants... how much the spirit misses its water when the caregiver is gone... sometimes, even when we only realise where we were getting our nourishing water from... after the lady in the worksuit is gone... hopeful and believing though that she has left somebody else... equal and more to the task... of watering my plant... feeding her spirit!!

#lifelessons #growing #plants