When I moved to my new home in January 2012, I received a welcome gift from a wise and experienced dear friend in her mid-80’s—a beautiful pink orchid. Anyone who knows me will attest that I do not have a green thumb. This was a special gift from a special friend and human being.
I was scared because orchids are exotic, and I wanted this plant to survive. I read about how I needed to place the pot in the optimal light, water minimally once a week. I followed instructions, yet after the initial blooms withered and fell, their shoots dried up and the leaves turned brown.
Had the plant died? It looked like it had! I was sad, not sure what to expect. I kept watering it once a week with minimal water and kept hope and happy thoughts. Spring came and went, summer passed, nothing!!!
In the fall I saw a small green shoot poke its head. Ahhh! Renewed hope and a smile. By late fall, blooms again! Delighted, I sent a picture to my dear friend. Eight years later, each fall, my dear orchid plant blooms, with bigger and many more blooms each year.
You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep Spring from coming. ~Pablo Neruda
This quote by Pablo Neruda reminds me, we should never give up hope even when it feels hopeless. We trust that our roots are strong, connected and nurtured by our care and concern for each other. Our faith, our prayers, our resolve and commitment that we are together, united with and for each other! Spring will come with vigor and grace and we will overcome!
#REFLECT How do you stand with courage & resilience to ensure that not only does spring return, but it arrives even more vibrant, with greater charm and fragrance? #MedEd #quoteoftheday #shelterinpoems
How is the coronavirus changing the way you think of self-care, community and resilience? As this challenging time unfolds, I am posting a daily quote on this blog with a reflection prompt. Please join in the conversation here or on Twitter with your thoughts or about what you are doing for self-care and care of others.
Spring does not depend on flowers; it is the flowers that depend on spring. Roots do not depend on trees; it is the tress that depend on the roots. So long as there is spring, flowers shall bloom, so long as the roots are strong and viable, trees will survive, so long as our elders are loved and respected, progenies shall survive and bloom.
Spring shall always return; it is the law of the nature. However, with what vibrancy, charm and fragrance it returns will depend on us, our attitudes and our behavior.
Spring is just a part of the cyclical pattern of nature. The well-known four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter will continue to follow each other in that order. Which season shall last longer or be more disastrous for survival through floods, famine or fires shall depend on how we treat our mother nature; whether we destroy her with our extravagance or preserve and nurture her with our love and respect. Events of the past confirm that whenever humankind mistreated mother nature, natural calamities like well-known deluge in the Christian faith, Kayamat in Islam or Pralaya in Hindu philosophy resulted in mass extinctions followed by a new beginning.
Cutting the flowers is essential to preserve the bulbs, so is the pruning of plants and trees. So is nipping of the evil in its bud, before it takes root and destroys humankind. It may seem brutal at times but is necessary. This requires not only courage but knowledge and wisdom to choose the appropriate action at the right time. This discernment is essential. What is the point in crying after the disastrous event or of watering after the crops have dried-up?
[The epic Ramayan sums this up as; Ka Varsha jab Krishi sukhane].
If you stand with courage and resilience, even against all odds, to protect and preserve nature, it will propagate itself. Nature includes all three; the living beings like the human, animal and vegetative lives; the non-living entities like the water bodies and vagaries of mother earth and the environment in which we live and breathe. The more we love and respect all these, the more shall be their vibrancy in service of mother nature and for mutual survival.
Spring is just a metaphor for health, happiness and purity of all that constitutes mother nature and its inhabitants. It is our obligation to ensure and sustain it.
It is possible only with Courage, Conviction and resilient Coordination of us all. Only we have the power to do so. Let us keep the spring alive in our body, minds and spirits.