Learning How to Thrive

     Nature teaches us that the way to thrive is to keep on growing and giving, in This Moment.  My New Guinea Impatiens, Linda, is an excellent example.  Linda is a high maintenance plant.   In the years since I acquired her, there were several times when she was reduced to almost nothing, due to pests, cold, or neglect.  At times she lost so many branches I thought she was a "goner" for sure.  But she continues producing new branches, and dropping her invisible seeds, so that "little Linda's" pop up in the most unexpected places.

     And she continues producing blooms, regardless of whether someone carelessly knocked off her finest blooms, and despite the fact that ultimately, every flower will wither and die.  There is no despair, no giving up, no sorrow, nothing to forgive.  The will to produce abundantly is in her, and nothing will stop her from doing so, as long as there is any life in her.

     Observing this marvelous plant, I learned something about how to thrive in life.  No matter how much Linda lost, she continues to grow and produce.  For Linda, the past does not exist.   There is only this moment, wherein Linda continues growing, whether she has one branch left, or fifty.  And so must it be for us, if we are to truly live.