Conditions for Growth - A Metaphor

I posted this photo on Facebook with this caption: Last year we didn’t have as many white gingers blooming so Randy and I worked to get them growing again. I cleared off the old stalks that had died and Randy fertilized and watered more often. This year, the gingers are taller and stronger. The blossoms are beginning to open up, and I can’t wait to smell the fragrance from our bedroom as we drift off to sleep.

A dear friend responded with this comment: Sounds like a wonderful metaphor for something.

I thought about it, and I realized that she is right. It’s not just about caring for our plants so they can thrive. It’s about life itself. Do we expect things to grow and thrive without the right amount of care? Or do we leave it alone, forget it, and hope things work out? It’s a mindset about whether we put effort into something so it can grow and become more than what we hoped or expected.

We are in turbulent times; we need to refresh and regroup and regrow our community, our state, our nation, the world. As I have stated in earlier blogs and in my book (Leading with Aloha: From the Pineapple Fields to the Principal’s Office), this Native American quote is one of my favorites: “We don’t inherit this earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.” This quote saddens me because at this time in history, I believe that we are leaving a mess for our children and future generations: climate change, huge federal debt, a polarized and divided and inequitable country, chronic disease, hunger and homelessness, trash. These are just a few of the problems we have created and have not addressed adequately.

It’s not too late. I believe that this pandemic has given us a unique opportunity to make needed changes in how we move forward to address our challenges. (Will We Have the Courage to Change?)

Just as our ginger plants are now thriving because we put in the effort, we all need to do our part to ensure that we can make positive changes for the sake of our children and future generations. It starts with each of us. Let’s do this!