As, opposed to, the GREEN THUMBS??? What this individual learned about planting in the garden, and children, translated…
“This plant, in my carefully attending to it, watching over it, finally, died, slowly.”
I read through the passage that didn’t fit logic in my child’s writing books, it’d made me laugh, and a bit, annoyed, so I’d, corrected him, and ordered him, to erase that line, and write another, then, I’d felt thunder, striking into me, I’d, realized, that this sentence that made NO sense whatsoever, is actually, the truth of our, lives!
I’d found that strange and deep affinity with the plants since I was a young child, on the way from home to school, and school back home, what others ignored, the weeds: the wiregrass, skunkvine, cape lilac, I’d, picked them away, like they were, some priceless, treasures. And, when I’d arrived home, my pocket was, full of these, tiny little plants, and I had them around my neck, in my hands too, I’d, gloated, all the way home, on my own findings, and, planted them into tiny pots, all around our backyard.
It’s just, that I had, a natural “black thumb”, everything I’d planted down, dies off anywhere between three to seven days. And, in my young mind, I’d gotten the ideal, that maybe, I have, some sort of, “black magic”, or some sort of a “curse from heaven”.
In my freshman year in university, I’d read the book by the Poet, Liu, and that was when it’d, dawned on me, realized, about the mysteries of me, having, the black thumb. In the township of Chang-An, Liu the poet met this hunched man, Kuo, who’s, very good in planting the trees, and the flowers, and he’d asked the man how he was able to, keep all his plants, thriving, Kuo lightly told him, “when you plant them down, treat them like children, watching over them, taking good care of them, and, as you’d, planted them in, you need to, desert them, that way, the plants will let their natures kick in, and, it would, survive.
And that was when it’d, dawned on me, as I’d, planted the weeds as a child, I’d, gone to, talk to them when I went to take care of them, anywhere from three, to five times a day. I’d, used all my allowances, bought the best fertilizers, watered them with the nutritious liquids.
And yet, all of these plants “died off slowly finally, as I’d, done my best, given them, everything I had, in growing them”, so, my supposed “loving them wrong” was what caused me to have this “black thumb”!
And now, on my lanai, I’d, planted, a small garden’s worth of potted plants, and, throughout the seasons, there’s, green, the red, the purple colored flowers. And, I’d often, immersed myself, in this, tiny space, with the flowers, the trees, the fake rocks; every time there was a guest, as the individual walked in, s/he was in awe, and, envied how I was, able to, turn this tiny space of my lanai, into, a full garden.
So, taking care of these potted plants, is exactly like taking care of our children, too much love will, suffocate them.
And so, you’d, learned an important lesson, from the flowers, the grasses, the herbs, the tree or whatever you’d, planted, sometimes, you just, have to, let them grow, as they’re, supposed to, don’t take such good care of them, that’ll, prevent them from learning, and it works, exactly the same way with children too, you look after them too well, you’re, taking away their abilities to fend for themselves, to learn the lessons that they need, in order to, survive!