The man at Cook's greenhouse and garden center tells me to take a hose and beat the trunk of my wisteria vine.
"Excuse me?" Surely I didn't hear him correctly.
He repeats his advice, this time acting out the prescribed action.
"Ok," and I imagine myself in purple boots, green floppy hat and soiled pants beating my wisteria with a hose. In the front yard, my neighbor watching from her window.
I shouldn't have admitted my wisteria has NEVER bloomed. But when he told me my winter hardy kiwi would bloom just like a wisteria, the awful truth spilled out. And now, I need to beat the wisteria with a hose.
The wisteria only blooms those gorgeous purple flowers under the perfect conditions and when those aren't part of its story, the tree has to be stressed or shocked into blooming. This may include cutting back on its water, cutting at its roots or as I learned, beating it with a hose.
In a way, the wisteria becomes complacent, refusing to let its beauty burst. To see its best, to see it in full bloom as nature intended, we have to shock it.
The analogy is pretty obvious to us humans: the harsh conditions, circumstances, or experiences can bring out the beauty in all of us, but what I have seen, is that people in dire circumstances will react usually in one of three ways (with variants on all three): With complacency, with beauty, or without beauty.
In dire circumstances, the best reactions change lives for the better; the worst reactions make the news.
So how do we react with beauty? How do we bloom under stress?
First step: change react to act. Breathe deeply. Think thoroughly and ask, What do I want to happen here? What will produce the best result in the long run? What kind of person do I want to be? What kind of influence do I want to have on the other person?
Many times, we won't have the time to think. Under stressful situations, we act according to who we are. Everyday is an unconscious preparation for that defining moment when who we truly are is revealed. Are we kind or cruel? Do we act differently according to the audience? The big moment action or reaction is a cumulation of the everyday actions. Are we building from bricks of integrity or mortar of self serving interest?
A lot to think about while beating the wisteria.
"Excuse me?" Surely I didn't hear him correctly.
He repeats his advice, this time acting out the prescribed action.
"Ok," and I imagine myself in purple boots, green floppy hat and soiled pants beating my wisteria with a hose. In the front yard, my neighbor watching from her window.
I shouldn't have admitted my wisteria has NEVER bloomed. But when he told me my winter hardy kiwi would bloom just like a wisteria, the awful truth spilled out. And now, I need to beat the wisteria with a hose.
The wisteria only blooms those gorgeous purple flowers under the perfect conditions and when those aren't part of its story, the tree has to be stressed or shocked into blooming. This may include cutting back on its water, cutting at its roots or as I learned, beating it with a hose.
In a way, the wisteria becomes complacent, refusing to let its beauty burst. To see its best, to see it in full bloom as nature intended, we have to shock it.
The analogy is pretty obvious to us humans: the harsh conditions, circumstances, or experiences can bring out the beauty in all of us, but what I have seen, is that people in dire circumstances will react usually in one of three ways (with variants on all three): With complacency, with beauty, or without beauty.
In dire circumstances, the best reactions change lives for the better; the worst reactions make the news.
So how do we react with beauty? How do we bloom under stress?
First step: change react to act. Breathe deeply. Think thoroughly and ask, What do I want to happen here? What will produce the best result in the long run? What kind of person do I want to be? What kind of influence do I want to have on the other person?
Many times, we won't have the time to think. Under stressful situations, we act according to who we are. Everyday is an unconscious preparation for that defining moment when who we truly are is revealed. Are we kind or cruel? Do we act differently according to the audience? The big moment action or reaction is a cumulation of the everyday actions. Are we building from bricks of integrity or mortar of self serving interest?
A lot to think about while beating the wisteria.
Worth beating or not?
From romancingthebee.com--thanks!