8 Lessons I Learnt From Plants

I love spending time with plants; they help with engaging my senses a bit more deeply than otherwise — see, smell, appreciate beauty around me. From the youngest leaves to the oldest roots, a plant is a scientific marvel to me. Perfect in function and form!

Flowers, are beautiful with their mathematical patterns, colors and scent. Leaves, are sheer wonder for me — what other living form can make their own food(!). And then there are the seeds. Seed is a very primordial concept. It’s something which holds the potential energy inside its (small) shell for what might become a mesmerizing living story. A tiny acorn holds the entire code for a majestic oak tree to grow! Seeing a seed sprout and grow into a plant is a very invigorating experience both scientifically and spiritually.

While I can lose myself talking about plants, here what I want to do is try and succinctly list some lessons I have learnt observing them.

Scientific and spiritual-plants hold an immense power to make me ask good questions.

1. Life: Happens slowly. Growth implies time. Death might be instantaneous, but to live means it takes time. Health is not “a” state, but a continuous work in progress. To live well means right volition, right knowledge and right work.
2. Patience: Most of the times gratification is not loud but it’s there. Things are happening more surely than anywhere else, but might not be available on a daily basis to human senses. Use the finer and subtler senses at disposal. Hang in there.
3. Process: Find good recipes to grow, follow them religiously and then trust the process. Faith and discipline are necessary to get to the results. Also each has very specific requirement, true love is enough; more does not mean bigger yields, follow the code and get out of growth’s way.
4. Seasons: Spring is for the blooms, summer for sustenance, fall for harvest and slowing down, winter for dormancy. Good timing is critical for better yields. Life depends on the sun and the moon. Pay attention to how the solar and lunar cycles affect the body. Time is what makes the work happen, don’t mess up the cycle.
5. Essence: A Jasmine plant does not become like a Hibiscus only because it grows right next to it. Jasmine plant will only bear Jasmine flowers which will only smell like Jasmine flowers. Preserve, seek and celebrate that core essence.
6. Elements: Water, Earth, Sun are powerful sources. It’s important to observe how they affect life, growth and health. Alignment of living processes at an elemental level will ensure the growth has strong foundations.
7. Diversity: There are many plants in my garden. There will be a few things I will learn which I can apply across the garden. But if I wish to have a healthy, vibrant and thriving garden, I need to pay attention to each any every one of them to ensure success. The point is to be curious about all of them.
8. Death: No matter how much I cared, how softly I held the flowers in my folded palms, how many springs I saw it bloom and smell sweet, how many evenings I softly caressed it’s foliage as I walked through the garden, how many hours I spent mesmerized at the consistent beauty — death is sure to come. They will wither and fall to the earth one day. The only truth is that Nature is at work. Say a beautiful goodbye, no need to grieve. What lives, will die.

Acknowledgements:

Thanks to brother mine, Mayur Rao, who reviewed the article. Thanks also for sharing Richard Feynman’s short explanation on how science only adds to the aesthetic beauty of a flower.