“Many people lose the small joys in the hope for the big happiness.”
― Pearl S. Buck
Growing up in the Middle East, I was surrounded by desert and at times, rubble. My father recently recalled one of the many times that, as a child, I excitedly bent down to admire a plant growing through the cracks of hostile rocks across a swath of shattered desert.
I’ve always been fascinated by the resilience of these desert plants.
What would it look like to be like one of these thriving sprouts? To exist in a place that no seed would consciously choose, if they could, but to sprout and grow and flower regardless?
In my experience, it would look like gratefully using the circumstances we have. Instead of focusing on the limitation, focusing on the freedom it may provide.
The cracks of rubble and rock can a blessing – no competition! All the sunshine. All the view. I could appreciate that plant in its entirety because it wasn’t surrounded by a field-full of other plants.
Ultimately, I just love that this plant simply grew. Maybe it was better off for it. Or maybe it was stunted. Maybe it was the beginning of a nature takeover, evolving into a meadow across the old rubble. Or maybe it was a one-hit wonder.
Whatever its trajectory, it was perfectly alive.
