I had to really think about this Chinese Proverb when I first read it. It touched me, but I was unsure why. Plants hold special meanings to me. They make my heart sing. Just the other day My Husband was trying to convince me to discard of my Plants. We will be traveling between States in the near future and he felt it not practical to keep all our house Plants. My response, "I will put them in crates and they can travel with us". Why you may wonder?, because they are not just Plants, they are part of me. Many were given to me from special people in my life.. some no longer visible to me because they reside above the Blue Skies. I have a spring rye from my Aunt Tina's Plant. She passed of cancer when I was only 13. I have a pothos from my Grandma that sat on her kitchen counter when I was a little girl until adulthood. There is a parlor palm from when Brian and I first got married. Cacti are in pots from my friend who moved away, my Spider Plant was a baby sprout from my Sister Brenda's kitchen... a place we have shared many special memories. My gardenia tree bears the blossoms of my favorite flower. There is a little noble pine my Mom gave me and then the amaryllis bulb that a friend who just passed wanted me to have. These Plants provide the kind of Oxygen that feeds one's soul. Each breath we take in our house nourishes us with the kind of air filled with a thousand treasured memories. You can not just throw that away, you need to water it, care for it, keep it close, treasure it, protect it. This was my initial literal feeling when reading this proverb. Proverbs are meant to be self interpreting so I am going to continue to think on this one for a bit. That said, when you grow a tree you need to cultivate the ground, dig deep, plant the tree and nurture it for it to grow green with life. It's roots will grow and with luck the tree will flourish. A more proper comparison to oneself would be that in order to hear the "Bird Sing" we must look within ourselves and get rid of that which creates negativity and does not allow our soil to be rich. Rich with love, peace and freedom of spirit that only a pure, clean heart can harbor. Only we can dig deep enough to search within to see what makes us happy. Once our tree within is happy, the Bird can sing and It's song will allow us to share love and Joy with others. Whether we are literally nurturing our Plants or metaphorically nurturing our Plants, the peace it brings can be all empowering and quite tranquil. I hope your tree will bear the fruit needed to bring you Joy! I think my inner tree is going to be a big ol' Maple because in my backyard there is the biggest Maple and it truly has been a blessing to me over the last 30 years. Providing shade, breezes, beautiful landscapes, and melodies. What kind of tree are you cultivating and what will the Bird sing? Head back to the Home page to Join My Blog and receive new post updates and visit the main menu to read past post of Positivity!
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