The other day I learnt that peas and the seeds of watermelon are full of protein. I looked this up. However, had I not spend a day with my daughter, I might have been none the wiser about the watermelon. The catalyst for this knowledge was an outing with someone that I love, not a day studying. We went for a picnic and she had bought some seeds to take with us. I’ve taken to looking at the ingredients in food. Something I used to do as a young mother. I was surprised at the amount of protein content in the seeds.
Why do we think that when we leave school we will be equipped for life? The truth is that very few people are. I would posit that nobody is. Some of us will be lucky enough to have learnt life lessons as children. We may have been through trauma that has taught us how to behave in certain situations; we may have been through trauma that has stifled us and prevented us from growing in some way, whether that has been produced by the demands of society, religion or discipline. We may have decided to behave differently from our parents or we may have learnt positive lessons from them that propel us forward into balanced lives that nurture our minds, bodies and spirit. Still there are so many lessons still to learn, mistakes to make and journeys to embark on, physical, spiritual and psychological.
Plants sometimes thrive better on the other side of the garden. A simple move can rejuvenate and heal them. Where a plant has been reduced to one leaf it can still recover if it has roots to plant, and with patience a year or two later become vigorous and new just like it was when it was very young. People are like plants; They need nurture and kindness. They need the right environment. They need time too.
Find the right environment for you, and I can guarantee you will thrive. Find people and things that are positive, life-affirming and make your heart happy. Don’t focus all your energies on learning facts. Remember that all the facts about flowers are nothing compared to the right place and the support of a nourishing interdependent environment.
Trust yourself and your intuition. Remember that you know what is best for you, and sometimes a real friend ( someone who takes the time to be with you and knows you very well), can point you in the right direction but they cannot plant you.
Stay healthy in all things
With love,
Hermione
hermionelaake 