Lessons from Growing: Wisdom for Life
Life in nature is difficult. Plants and animals face daunting realities, where success hinges on surviving, growing, and passing genes to offspring, moment by moment. For plants, every moment matters for biological success. Humans, however, face different realities. Human success cannot be compared to the natural world. This is the dichotomy of coexistence. This article shares my gardening journey, failures, and wisdom, offering insights for personal growth.
My parents were fanatical gardeners. In my early years, we spent weekends working in our gardens. As early as I can remember, with a mini shovel in hand, I helped dig holes, plant seeds, and weed garden beds. Growing plants seemed simple: water, soil, sunlight, luck. Once, I neglected the garden bed I was responsible for watering. The plants wilted and died. That failure taught me that care has conditions—a vital choice of action and consequence, and lessons of diligence. I loved the garden; it brought me joy.
As I studied biology and physical sciences in school, I viewed plant growth with deeper understanding. Scientifically, biological success means maintaining life’s continuity. Plants need water, nutrients, and a suitable environment to thrive. Environmental stress diverts their energy to survival, reducing growth. Biodiversity, regulated by climate, declines further from the equator. Over thousands of years, plants evolved physical, metabolic, and chemical tactics to enhance resilience to environmental variability. As they sense stress, their growth slows, prioritizing adaptive survival mechanisms. Plants aren’t passive; they work hard, minute by minute, to survive and grow, inspiring my view of human resilience.
Do plants have consciousness? If consciousness is awareness of surroundings, I believe they do. Like plants, humans adapt. Humans navigate life with a unique reality, shaping it through mental processes. Our minds blend past memories, including physical and emotional experiences, present states of mind and body, and future hopes, regulating thoughts, moods, behaviors, and even appetite moment by moment. Unlike plants, bound by nature’s laws, we craft our world, creating a reality driven by the mind’s manifestations, distinct from nature’s constraints.
Life in nature is a harsh struggle, every moment critical for plants and animals to achieve continuity. Humans, unbound by natural laws, redefine success. Through ancient years, nature guided our wisdom with shelter, growth, health, and abundance. Gardening taught me mental gardening: cultivating strengths, weeding doubts, acting daily. A failed tomato plant, stalled project, and lost friendship taught me adaptability. Start mental gardening today! Success requires strong minds, learning, and teaching, or we risk failure. Each moment is a precious chance to grow, transforming how I live.
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