The Wisdom of Flora
I was observing the trees swishing and swaying in the wind from where I write. When the wind abated the tree, branches and leaves became still. When the wind picked up there was rustling and swooshing again. The wind was gentle and the trees, branches and leaves appeared to dance to it’s tune. Wind can be acknowledged as an important external factor that impacts and influences the existence of flora. It has the power to shred leaves, lacerate flowers, break branches and uproot trees. Conversely it provides numerous benefits to trees and plants such as seed dispersal, aiding the fall of leaves seasonally, protection from heat and more. These are distinct functions in nature that continue endlessly. Trees go through a life cycle beginning as a seed, moving on to germination, seedling, sapling, mature tree, decline, and death or decay. This then begs the question: do they complain and how do they manage their existence effectively. While it may appear unrealistic to compare the existence of flora to that of humans, would it be smart to ignore that much knowledge and wisdom can be gained from them.
A Keyhole Perspective
Humans develop through a life cycle as do flora; they go through stages of the fertilised egg, foetus, infancy, toddler years, childhood, puberty, adolescence, adulthood, middle age and senior years. Our physiological structure, the manner in which we live, challenges, external factors, life purpose, threats etc differ vastly but given that we all fall within one macrocosm there must be similarities, parallels, connections or relationships we don’t recognise or give attention to, right? Could intelligence be discerned from the humble tree which could potentially illumine the darkness we as humans grapple with on a daily basis? Our indoctrinated perception of being separate, different, incomparable, unique, superior or loftier than other creations limits us with a narrow keyhole perspective that obscures our mind from considering possibilities. The focus on characteristics that distinguish is problematic and obstructive. Features such as shape, size, looks, colour, height, weight, physical and biological structure are perceptions of our outer self. We must look deeper. The ignorance of not expanding our vision laterally and beyond, to grasp our likeness to everything surrounding us keeps us captured by maya, the master of illusion. We perceive ourselves as different from habitants in nature which diminishes the possibility of learning, acquiring insights or illumination from sources rich in knowledge and wisdom. What then can be drawn from the existence of entities in nature to enable us as humans to create, manage and live meaningfully, unaffected by the numerous common afflictions that bother us daily?
Building Strength Through Resilience
Trees, plants and greenery show extraordinary levels of resilience, regardless of exposure to favourable or unfavourable conditions. Depending on their location, physical structure or exposure to threats, they use what they have to grow with health, adapt, survive or thrive. For instance they use root systems to maintain stability and ensure water retention in dry periods. Thick barks and waxy leaves provide protection from fires, reduce loss of water and retain moisture particularly during droughts. They are able to regenerate cells which help repair and recover from structural damage, and enable new growth after destruction such as fire.
Similarly, human resilience pertains to one’s ability to recover from adversities, manage well-being during difficult times, adapt successfully and grow from challenges. The development of resilience is probably one of the most important that should be prioritised by us. Resilience can never be over developed and is the strength that enables one to experience life challenges with more hope, confidence and optimism, distinguishing one from those who struggle. Life constantly throws challenges, trials and tribulations, hence strong resilience is essential to accept, understand, learn, realise and move on from adversities in a healthy manner. Low levels of resilience tend to perpetuate feelings associated with giving up, losing hope and fearing new opportunities. Resilience is a strong ace to ride the waves of life, embrace new experiences, dispel unfounded fear, learn from previous disappointments and approach daily life with more strength, faith and confidence. Resilience naturally becomes eroded if one has experienced significant setbacks, challenges or disappointments over a long period. However one can rise up from that by convincing oneself to see the upside of a situation. Understandably not the easiest thing to do. It is however useful to identify at least one positive aspect or benefit of a difficult situation each time they appear. Over time and with sincere practice one builds confidence in challenging one’s challenge which reduces it’s command over you. Other strategies to build and nurture resilience include developing confidence, self-esteem, problem solving skills and managing a positive mindset. Just as trees and plants use everything available to them to fight the odds to ensure growth or survival we should harness and draw from other skills to weather and manage difficult times as we encounter them.
Adaptability
Flora and all types of vegetation have to be adaptive to extreme temperatures, environmental disturbances and numerous other external stressors and threats. Over time they have had to evolve to survive in different habitats, forced to adapt to changing climate, water availability, soil types, growing challenges within their ecosystems, environmental threats and more. They show durability by growing in cracks, on rocks, on other trees, in the shade, on walls, in water etc. In most instances they use everything at their disposal to survive and not die.
Adaptability emerges off the back of resilience. The potency of resilience enables one to accept, adapt and achieve. For us as humans, the ability to adapt ensures minimum disruption, finding new solutions, making quick changes, ensuring survival or accomplishing something when things may not have gone exactly as planned. Adaptability ensures all is not lost when something beyond your control occurs. It allows one to maintain self-control to think, process and find alternatives to achieve a good if not better outcome. Another secret to winning against life challenges is to flex our ability to adapt. It is almost an accepted fact that everyone at some point in life would have experienced a challenge where alternatives or other options had to be considered. Life essentially forces us to develop this from a young age as things do not always go as planned which needles us to think differently and find other solutions. One can confront such challenges with angst, frustration or defeat or accept such situations fearlessly, with confidence and a winning mindset. It may not be easy to always adapt with grace however the cost of not doing so is often high.
Perseverance
Trees and plants demonstrate perseverance through their resilience and adaptability. They are not deterred by unfavourable environments, harsh conditions, limited resources or negative environmental influences. Their focus is to grow and thrive.
Perseverance for humans is no walk in the walk and is probably the one thing life is obsessed with testing. Have you ever felt as though you were going through test after test after test with no end in sight? Did you perhaps wonder if life was testing to determine your breaking point or the point at which you would throw in the towel and give up? Perseverance is difficult to develop and nurture; particularly if the flow of challenges have been constant. Life constantly tests perseverance hence it is pointless giving up or fighting it. It makes more sense to develop and teach oneself to persevere regardless of the test instead of risking having to learn the same lesson repeatedly. Developing other traits such as resilience, adaptability, determination, confidence etc is highly beneficial to nourish and strengthen perseverance. Furthermore, little and big wins should be celebrated and revisited especially when perseverance slumps. Consider if we had stopped persevering at the time of learning to walk, if we stopped trying because we fell ten or 20 times, would we be walking now? Continuous efforts, practice and walking for years has made us good at it, similarly struggle and failure at the beginning should never be accepted with defeat but rather with strength, courage and confidence that whatever the challenge may be it can be won over.
Patience
The greenery around us show extreme patience in trusting the slow, steady, stable process of their growth and development. They go through changing seasons with resilience, acceptance and patience year after year. Essentially they exist at the pace of nature, not hastening growth, enduring long periods of time without a fuss and await the right time and optimal conditions to flourish.
Patience is especially challenging for us as humans when much time, effort or labour is invested in something and results or the outcome is unclear or lies in the distant future. Trees, plants and flowers have probably grasped this test from the universe better than most humans. English poet William Langland in his poem "Piers Plowman", written in the 1360s, wrote, "Patience is a fair virtue". He held patience is about waiting for something regardless of how long it takes to arrive, weathering difficulties and challenges calmly, fully composed and appreciative of a moral quality worthy of admiration. You may be cracking up with laughter pondering it’s practicality and applicability in this current age. This reminded me of something someone close to me constantly iterates: he listens attentively and concludes with the following, “just remember your problems are very patient, they not in a hurry to go anywhere”. This confirms that patience as a virtue stands the test of time. Not allowing something the time required to run it’s course and attempting to hastening a process does not always end well. It may result in the same lessons having to be learnt repeatedly, not achieving the best outcomes or losing your mind from not maintaining a sense of calm and composure. We tend to be driven by instant gratification, immediate responses, quick results, short term fulfilment and impulsive choices and decisions. We must pause to examine the cost, loss and pitfalls of such choices. Life teaches us that many things take as long as it takes and should not be manipulated. Entities within nature understand this perfectly.
Beyond the Limits of the Human Eye and Mind
Thus how different are we from the greenery that surround us. Perhaps the secret lies in looking beyond physical appearances. When that is enabled we begin to see, learn, understand, acknowledge and realise more. The concept of resilience, adaptability, perseverance and patience apply to plant life as well as to us humans but the difference may emerge in how we manage it in our life. Under natural conditions, in the absence of artificial disturbances plants, trees and other vegetation appear to manage their existence far more intelligently. We are all part of a massive singular system and we should be looking at entities alongside us to discern what can be learned from them. Learning from humans beside us is great but the opportunity to learn from entities beyond the human world is where the real treasure lies. It provides the opportunity to see beyond the limits of the human eye and mind, beyond the deceptive illusion, to acquire knowledge, wisdom and intelligence from creations succeeding in what they do and bring those secrets into our life to not only manage the daily ebbs and flow but to flourish and enjoy a more meaning existence. How open are you to it?
