Growing up I remember always questioning and exploring: curiosity about how the world around me worked; why friends' families did things differently; and if work systems could change. Though I didn't need to, I took additional classes on ornamental horticulture, soil science, history, statistics, Greek... even though I was a computer science major! Each semester the Dean had to approve my "course overload." My interests and the academic choices seemed endless... but my time was limited and the university system wanted me to graduate!
Why? There was so much to learn: I wanted to grow... and I still do!
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| What filters what we see? (Photo: Shaded Patio, Catalina Island, Larry Gardepie) |
As spring weather returns and new plant growth appears, it is time to weed and prepare the soil for our vegetable garden. In the process of weeding, I recall a comment from one of my horticulture professors: "Weeds are plants that are misplaced." He explained that weeds bring value to the environment. We are the ones who have labeled them... and want to remove them.
I wonder about our Need to Weed. Before the horticulture class, I was taught:
- Weeds draw water and nutrition from the plants we prefer.
- Weeds choke off the growth of other plants.
- Weeds are not the plants we have chosen to nurture.
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| Where does beauty exist? (Photo: California Poppy, Larry Gardepie) |
Maybe these statements are true, but what is it about our desire to define, filter, and control what is considered a "weed" or "not a weed"? People in California are faced with continued drought conditions, so some are returning to native drought-resistant plants -- those that are best suited for this environment. It takes awhile to get used to the naturalness of these native plants - they don't always match what I learned earlier... some look like weeds!
Weeds and dialogue have a lot in common: curiosity helps us to explore people's ideas, opinions, and conclusions; slowing down and listening heightens awareness of the filters to pull up or discard other ways of thinking or being; compassion and empathy surface as we relate to the person planted in our lives.
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| Where can we bloom where we are planted? (Photo: Conservatory and Lily Pond, Balboa Park, San Diego, Larry Gardepie) |
Learned filters determine what is choking growth or what is nurtured. Noticing these filters provides choice on what is misplaced or not. Choice allows us to consider Weeds of Ideas that we may have discarded without thinking.
Maybe as we consider the words we choose and the actions we take, we can learn to value diverse ideas and opinions. Rather than controlling and removing what we don't like, we can sit with and marvel at the beauty of what is planted.
Be careful what you weed and toss aside this week!
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| Larry Gardepie (click on link for website) |
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