THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE ARE IN NATURE
Before our ancestors invented writing 5500 years ago, God communicated the profound truths of life through nature. Through seasons, plants, animals, and all other parts of the created order. My 96-year-old Grandmother could tell you when it was about to rain by watching a particular bird in flight or by watching the leaves of a specific flower which will turn its funnels towards the sky in anticipation of some thirst-quenching rain. As an artist, writer and coach, I spend a lot of time observing nature and listening to The Master Gardener for hidden truths that lie in plain sight, waiting for the seeker to uncover.
Meet Habibi. In Arabic, Habibi means, my dear. She is a beautiful palm tree we have lived with for 12 years. With adequate care, she can grow as tall as a three-story house. She has enhanced our lives and the lives of our friends in the bird Kingdom immeasurably. We observed birds visiting Habibi during the first lockdown, harvesting building materials from her to either build or refurbish existing nests. How generous. We thought.
In front of our family home in my beloved Bamenda, my father built a mini botanic garden inundated with exotic plants. He treated them meticulously, and they brought us so much joy. It is often the case that humans return to old sources of bliss during trying times like the pandemic. So we retreated to the garden.
Habibi and I knew there was something wrong. It had happened four years prior and was happening again. She was root-bound. She had outgrown her home. Plants become root-bound when they have no room to extend their roots. This restriction causes their roots to grow in a tight circular manner over and over, like a ship circumnavigating the harbour with no particular destination. Or like an individual stuck in a job, business, relationship, church, or lifestyle which produces nothing but dry bones and bitterness.
The Architect of the universe is so merciful that he speaks to whoever listens using whatever he chooses. For example, five years ago, we noticed Habibi was root-bound; my wife and I knew I was a divine prompt. We also were root-bound and had outgrown certain aspects of our lives. Growth was being compromised. We enlarged her territory and ours, and the blessings were significant. Lesson learned.
Habibi had another growth spurt, so did we, but we ignored the prompt to re-pot her and review our lives for symptoms of stuckivitis (doing the same old stuff and expecting better results). Finally, she came up in my meditation last week, and I could no longer ignore her plea for freedom. Root-bound plants or people eventually suffer from suffocation if the issue is not addressed.
My lower mind had many reasons why I wasn't ready to re-pot Habibi, but the seat of power (the Will) knew better.
Seeing her roots was a harrowing sight.
I am awfully sorry, Habibi, for such neglect. I had everything I needed to give you a better environment to grow in, but procrastination got the better of me.
We often have all we need to grow, but we sometimes choose to delude ourselves that we are waiting for x,y, and angel z. Could you do it now?
Habibi has now inhabited her new home for a week, and there are visible signs of growth. We have also moved her to a central location where we can see her from the dining table. Since re-poting Habibi, we have changed our way of experiencing life and expect growth in due season.
It would help you greatly if you took the time to nurture nature or listen to silence. If you are feeling root-bound, it might be time for a change. Happiness is a by-product of growth.
Enlarge your territory. Stretch your mental and physical capacity.
"Do the thing, and you will have the power" Ralph Waldo Emerson