In a time of destruction, I created something

Three months ago, I started growing chia sprouts in a take-out container on a kitchen towel. Since then, I haven’t looked back.

It started as a means of filling the 8' x 11' void that our balcony was. Or it was the inability to go to a park and sit by a tree because of the COVID-19 pandemic that has been threatening the existence of mankind for a while now. Whatever the reason was that led me to grow and nurture life in the form of plants, this exercise taught me a little more than the amount of sunlight marigolds need and how often should the soil be fertilized.

I learned that,

“A seed knows how to wait… a seed is alive while it waits.”

Growth is a gradual process. Earlier, I would look at a flower and remark at its effortless beauty and color never thinking for once about the exacting months it would’ve gone through to become the beauty that would be worthy of praise. Gardening has taught me that the transition from a seed to a plant which boasts numerous flowers does not happen in a day. There is no such thing as overnight success. But there is something called continuous improvement which requires a lot of patience and trust but leads us to success if we keep at it.

Everyone has the ability to create, only if they believe in it. As children, we are all creators and artists and thinkers. But as we grow, we learn to hide under the mask of conformity. We prioritize the things that the society values, compare ourselves to our peers and work sedulously to compete with them, lest we be left behind. Rollo May, the distinguished psychiatrist, wrote a wonderful book called Man’s Search for Himself, and in it he says:

“The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice … it is conformity.”

Gardening gave a chance to create for myself a place which did not exist three months ago. It helped me realize how fulfilling the act of creating was and most importantly, made me feel at peace with myself — a calm that I could not get by winning a competition or ranking at the top of a class.

I can understand how parents love so deeply. My tryst with gardening has enabled me to perceive the parental angle in a parent-child relationship — I’ve only been a child until now. I’ve gone from feeling happy when my plants look bright and nourished, to helpless when their leaves droop because of the summer heat, to excited when they sprout tiny buds. As I tend to my plants every morning, examining their growth and general well-being, I get to experience, however minutely, the wholesomeness of parental love — no matter how many times it is divided.

Want to grow plants but don’t know how?

Check out Garden Up to learn how to make your homes greener, in fun and simple ways. This YouTube channel inspired me to create my balcony garden.

What about you?

How have your experiences with gardening been? Let me know in the comments section!