Learning from an Orchid
One morning during my quiet moments, I noticed a dead leaf on my rose geranium. As I reached in to pull it off, I realized that it was not a dead leaf, it was not even part of the plant. Instead it was on another plant beside the geranium - the orchid! A little back story is needed here for you to understand my surpris
I have spent most of my adult life attempting to grown things in spite of the fact that I have experienced more failure than success. As a matter of fact, I am pretty bad at it! So, two years ago when I attended an orchid growing class at a local garden shop, I was motivated more by the time it meant with my daughters, than anything. We did have a lovely time and I brought a complimentary orchid home (from inventory they could not sell). It is not the most attractive plant and I have often thought about giving up.
I stayed with it however, watering it, repotting it and moving it from place to place watching how it responded to each change. It has been like getting to know a new friend for it lets me know how it likes each change by either growing (very slowly) or dying off (very quickly). This year, we seemed to find a good rhythm and I enjoyed watching the new shoot it grew that survived my care! This particular morning I was looking at my plants a bit more intentionally and saw what I thought was a dead leaf on a neighboring rose geranium. When I went to remove the “leaf” I found the orchid bloom. I really cannot overemphasize my surprise.
In thinking about the process involved with growing this orchid to a point where it was happy enough to bloom, I have realized something. Sticking with the process is what was been successful, not the success or failure of each step along the way. My little orchid has taught me a life lesson that I can apply to nearly everything. Pushing through each step toward a bigger goal is what yields results. Sometimes the steps need to be repeated, adjusted or just continued. Granted the goal needs to be worthy of the effort, but the process is far more important than each step along the way.
Maybe these thoughts will help you to continue with me to press on toward some of your personal goals. I would love to hear about those goals. Share with me at middleroselife@gmail.com.
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