Ambitious as a Cactus
The fact is that none of us is immune from the destroying waves of life. Either if God is doing them or someone else, me and you are here to experience, and we simply can’t avoid it. Having experienced a few of these waves now I understand that there is much more to come. Like the relation of a beach and a sea, we have our calm and stormy relation with life. During my journey until today, recently I found myself a very legit mentor to help me cope with the fast pace of the world. I am talking about the world in which day by day is accelerating. Deliveries are done in a matter of hours, technology is developing faster, communication is more rapid, etc. And I think all this rapidness is unconsciously forcing us to increase speed and be updated in every level. Nowadays, many want to succeed fast, become rich fast, get fit fast, learn fast, etc. Let me tell you how I got to know this mentor.
Dear reader, it was an exceptional evening! Almost half an hour before the sun set in Venetian’s lagoon. I am sure you can remind yourself of the chilly breeze at that time of the day, oh! And the breeze dressed in the salt perfume that day. Meanwhile, there was me wandering in the narrow and shadowy streets of Venice with my busy mind. Thinking of the ongoing challenges and struggles of me, a young bud with a big dream. I don’t remember who inspired me to do this, but I’ve always dreamed of entering a city as a zero then see if I could make it all the way to hundred by my own. Now, here I am, pursuing my dream but only God knows how many times I asked myself “Is this worth it?”. As I turned into a new street and took a few steps in, something extraordinary in one of the old houses caught my attention. There I saw a window on the first floor covered by a fence with triangular pattern. The residents had put a few vases on the rack between window and fence probably to participate in the aesthetics of Venice. Judging by the spider nets around and all the rust, I would say it was months the vases were not taken care of. Nevertheless, the plants were still green, fresh, and in good condition. But there was one standing out, a cactus. It was not a simple one for sure. The leaves had grown thick and fleshy, apparently full of saved water to use in future. The thing was that it had completely grown out of the fence, even though it was rooted in the same place as other plants. It had passed through the triangular holes and made its way out of the frame, heading toward the sky and almost there. Clearly its sole objective and motivation to reach the sun was one and only one thing: Growth. The rest of the plants were peacefully living their life in the little cage between the closed window and the metal fence. This lone cactus suddenly built a bridge between all my unsolved thoughts. You know when connections are made everything seems more sensible. That made me stop for a while and stare at it until I learnt what I needed: “Take care of yourself by maintaining enough nutrients, light, water, and oxygen to grow. Sometimes to achieve this you must pass certain limits, and yes, you are alone.”
The day passed and happy with what I learnt, I carried on. However, inspired by the cactus I thought about it while facing life’s realities. Most of the time it made sense to use it as a metaphor for my life. Moving out of my parent’s house, like a branch that is separated from a tree and planted somewhere nearby. Now, I am still a young tree, developing roots underground and spreading my leaves up there to collect sun and energy. Being aware of the process can keep out a lot of negative thoughts and help you to be more patient. How absurd it is to expect a young tree to be fruitful at this stage! It is also not so wise to force a plant grow faster. They have their own growing speed and so do human beings. Deep and strong roots to secure nutrients and steadiness needs time. When they are done with things underground, then they grow strong trunks and wide branches that could provide shadow to everyone. Dear reader, what if the next element you see around could be your mentor? Take your time to find what you connect with. I wish you the best.
