The Secret of Plants

For all who have a desire to change their walking,
nature displays in abundance the way to do it.

The answer grows all around you.

Pardon me if it seems I speak in riddles.
For I do not mean to. Riddles are obscure,
while the path to forward walking is clear—
as clear as the flowers before you.

For plants, my young friend, know a secret—
the secret to forward walking.

It seems odd to say that plants walk forward, but they do.

And it is a shame that their knowledge of
forward walking remains a secret,
for they have been speaking of it to all
who would listen, from the beginning of time.

Listen to them, my young friend,
and they will show you the way.

The Service of Plants

You can hear the secret most plainly
when you are listening from a great distance.

For the secret of plants is most obvious in plants’ absence.

This is not another riddle
but simply recognition of what is sadly true:
man sees lack much more readily than abundance.

It is when plants are absent that we learn to see them.

My learning from plants began
as I wandered across a stark desert plain.

For five days I could find no relief from the heat.
Food was scarce. With no vegetation, I lived on snakes
and desert rodents, such as they were. In the barren waste
of the plain, even those creatures were scarce.

When I did find them, I ate their raw flesh,
for there was no wood to make fire.

I came to loathe that plain. It was a harsh, unforgiving place.

It lacked variety and natural beauty.

It provided no refuge from the heat or the storms.

It was barren of the habitats necessary
to support most creatures.

It contained very little food and lacked the wood
that would allow me to properly prepare what I could find.

On the morning of the third day,
I realized that although the plain seemed
to lack so much, it really lacked only one thing:

Vegetation.

All that I missed was the service provided by plants.

The Source of Beauty

Of all the creations of Mother Earth,
perhaps none serve so fully as the plants.

Consider their service:

They provide food, shelter, shade, habitat,
support against erosion, and raw material for the
construction of tools and preparation of fire.

Is it just a coincidence that the creations that provide
the most help happen as well to be the most beautiful?

I think not.

For I have known people who provide service
after the manner of plants, and their lives have been
the most beautiful lives I have known.

They, like the plants, reach to the heavens in their living,
and in their reaching heavenward, they have reached to me.

Counterfeits

But beware, my young friend.
There are counterfeits among nature.

Every plant that is good for food is mimicked
by another that will make you ill.

In this, nature teaches about life.
For there are many dangerous elements
who will try to make themselves appealing in your eyes.

Most of them will not think themselves dangerous, and the
danger is that you will not, either. They may act in ways you
find fun and exciting. And in their delivery of gratification,
you may mistake them as doing you a service.

But beware. Some oak is good, other is poison.
There are many whose offering—however enticing—
is not joy but strife.

Just as you must separate the good from
the counterfeit in nature, so must you do in your life.

Am I sounding old and out of touch?

I very much hope to sound old, for old I am.
And it is because of my years that I can give counsel.

But if I sound to you out of touch, I worry for your health.
I fear you may already be intoxicated by counterfeits.

I know how intoxicating counterfeits can be.
For it was under their influence that I turned my back
on all the truth in my life.

It was not until I saw poison masquerading as food
that I committed to remain on the path to recovery.

My young friend, pay attention to what you take in.
I have had many bitter years
because of the bitter fruit I have tasted.

As you learn how to discern the good and the evil in nature,
you will discover a capacity to do the same in life.

In this, too, the plants do you a service.

Hope for the Desert

In many desert regions,
there can be found a most interesting plant.

It is plain and unspectacular. For years
it languishes in obscurity, keeping close
to the earth and drawing no attention to itself.
There is nothing about it that makes it desirable.

But these many years of apparent inactivity are actually years
of preparation. Suddenly, as if from out of nowhere, the
plant thrusts a giant stock heavenward. In one brief season,
this most humble and lowly plant grows beyond all others.

It lifts itself up so that all can see.

But then, at the height of its reputation and power,
the plant suddenly dies.

Those who do not know better would think it stricken
and afflicted. But its sudden death is according to plan.

It dies because it gives all that it has in its ascent
toward the sky. And this ascent is not in vain.
For in death, it spreads seeds of life upon the earth.
It dies that others might rise as well.

My young friend, let the century plant’s life
inspire and guide you.

Speak less and learn more. Prepare yourself to stand tall
and straight. In all that you do, point heavenward.

Do so, and you will inspire others to do the same.

The dry desert slopes and asphalt expanses of your day
need your inspiring presence.

Plant yourself in good soil.
Treasure the dews from heaven and store up water
in your soul. In all your days, bask in the light of the sun.

Then you, like the century plant, will become a beacon of
hope, and for you its sacrifice won’t have been in vain.