Gardening is a great way to learn about the natural laws of the world. We can observe how the tiniest of seeds can grow into something significant, like the giant Sequoia tree.
I’ve planted a few crops of my own. The one that gave me a significant impression is the humble ginger plant. In a pot, it looks unflattering; sparse and reed-like with brownish ends as if it is withering. Only when I repotted the plant did I marvelled at how much growth has happened underneath and how surprisingly resilient the ginger plant is.
A typical ginger plant takes an average of about 6-8 months (in tropical regions) to double in size, provided the right conditions are met before the plucking.
There are many factors at play but from a layman point of view on botany, ample sunlight, water and suitable soil medium are critical for the success of your plant.
Reap what you sow
Funny how the same law applies to our pursuits in life.
If we want to achieve something, we need to cultivate the right things in order to achieve the desired outcome. Given time and consistent efforts, constant care can lead to fruitful results.
Stephen Covey, author of The 7 habits of highly effective people said it beautifully when he explained that there are no shortcuts in life,
“Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.”
Many of us want immediate results. And when we didn’t see any progress, we get frustrated and discouraged and then we give up. Yet Nature has its way of telling us that we need to put in the effort consistently to achieve the desired outcome. Time and patience are the natural law of growth and everything can be conquered with this simple awareness in life.
The same also goes with neglect. We can easily fall into the temptation of discounting the required work, especially one that is easy to do. Shortcuts lead to shortfalls in our outcome.
Wrapping up
We are human after all.
We question, we get lazy and we slide back once in a while. Whenever we felt the temptation to retreat back to laziness, remember that setbacks and obstacles are only at the surface. Like the ginger plant, growth happens within, until we reap the roots of our labour.
