It's not enough to talk to plants,

you also have to listen.

-- David Bergman

Plants grow best when we pay attention to them. That means watering, touching them, putting them in places where they will receive good light. They need people around them to notice if they are drooping at the edges or looking particularly happy in the sunlight.

The more attention a plant receives, the better it will grow.

We need to be noticed in the same way.

If we notice a family member or friend is drooping, perhaps we can pay some special attention to him or her.

All of us need someone to care about how we are and to truly listen to us.

We can share and double someone's happiness by noticing and talking about it also.

We help the people around us to grow by listening to their droopy edges as well as their bright days.

People need this as much as plants need light and water.

Roots nourish, give us life and bind us safely to earth.

Plant them well.

-- Anonymous

All trees have different root systems. The pine grows quickly, with shallow roots that spread in every direction. A maple is a slow-growing tree, whose roots run deeper, seeking out moisture far into the earth.

Both root systems give life, but when the weather turns stormy and the wind howls through the branches, the maple, with its deeper roots, will hold fast.

Though the pine grows faster and needs only surface moisture, it cannot withstand the storm as well.

We often want things immediately. We want to play the piano, but only if we can learn it fast. We want others to love us right away, or we'll give up on them. If something we're doing doesn't go just so right from the start, we give up.

But the permanent things in life take time to develop. If we want our relationships, our skills, our accomplishments, to resist the storms we all encounter, we must allow time for them to grow and deepen within us, and marvel, in the meantime, at how much we can learn from the world around us.

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11/09/2013

Flower garden divider from Rosemarie's Everything Page (dead link 10/2002)

( Permission to use the copyrighted images of Jean-Paul Avisse is licensed from Prestige Art Galleries, Inc. )