Love Makes Miracles Grow

I really like cut flowers. We have an agreement. They brighten up the room. I often give them fresh water. Eventually, they wilt and brown, then I toss them into the backyard. Rabbits eat them. They decompose. It’s the circle of life. 

With living plants, the agreement should be different. But for whatever reason, under my supervision, they often don’t thrive. After I’ve failed them, I take the poor thing to someone with more plant talent than I and hand them over to a new home in personal defeat. Most of the time, these plants have recovered from my inept caring and lived on in their new homes. 

If there were a catastrophe and we had to garden our own food, I told my husband, “Better prepare to die.”  I’m incompatible with growing and cultivating plantlife. I even killed a cactus once. I really liked him, too. 

And Yet

And yet, I am trying again! I have one baby plant that’s been alive for, well about six months. That’s a record for me. 

I tried again because I was challenged by a colleague. It was on a work trip and I balked at the possibility. Then, as fate would have it, the next day an Uber driver explained to me the trick with keeping healthy plants…It’s love. 

Stay with me. 

During the conversation on the way to the Las Vegas airport, the driver explained how he cared for his rose bushes, which bloom and thrive (IN THE DESERT remember) because he carefully provides for and talks to them everyday. They are all he has, since his wife passed away, and they give him great comfort and peace these roses. 

Hm. 

Love does make miracles grow. Like peace. Joy. Laughter. Love grows confidence. Maybe empathy, maybe wisdom, maybe self-control. 

So, once home I did a little research on hearty house plants then brought one home. It’s a cute little guy. I can’t say it’s grown yet, but it’s still alive! I water it. (Not too much, I think my previous mistakes were often based in overbearing and zealous caretaking and, well, that’s not healthy either.) I talk to it and sometimes I pet its leaves a little, you know, so it feels connected. 

Every Love is Unique

There are so many loves in the universe: romantic, parental, friendship, community, family, and the bonds these each carry are perfectly unique, just like the cell structure of each life involved. Maybe that mix of uniqueness is part of the magic.

It’s said each heart and soul have an endless capacity for love. This may be, but I have had to reckon with balancing that capacity with my own energy, and the vulnerability that comes along with it, as well. 

Still, with the right dose of nourishment, light, and patience, I think love can grow exponentially and photosynthesize back into energy. Healthy, positive energy flows into the world when we learn to grow more love.

And sometimes, even if we didn’t have the right “mix” before, we have to try again, have faith, and help love to grow.

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