To Mother Earth

Blackberry blossoms are gorgeous rose-like flowers that make me giddy.  If this is all the canes gave, I would be delighted.  And why does the blackberry flower so gloriously?  To attract pollinators, right? I care for the blackberry, it flowers to attract the right kinds of insects and then it can produce fruit for me.  One hand washes the other.  But lately, I’ve been thinking about service and that got me pondering…what if the blackberry gives it flowers to just add to the beauty and abundance of the world.  What if it is rewarded for that service with luscious fruit and I, as a bystander, reap the prize and think it’s all for me? 

Gardening can seem quite transactional.  Place a seed in the ground, expect to harvest, but it doesn’t really work that way.   We know we must give more in order to have success.  Sometimes it’s the careful selection of place.  Bright, direct sunlight, or dappled shade?  It’s water when needed, protection from predators, even a boost of nutrition.  We put ourselves into service with high hopes and no guarantee.   

What if we play a little game the next time we are taking a walk, in the garden or elsewhere.  What if we look to the trees, just leafing out now, and consider they are giving us their gift, their service.  They are presenting us with beauty, shade and oxygen, are they not?  Even the grass is in service, as it covers the bare earth and protects the living creatures under it.  What if we open our eyes to all of that, as service? Doesn’t that fill the heart with gratitude?  

Coming out in the morning and seeing the lettuce has grown a little taller, and seems possessed with vigor and glee, maybe that is meant to be the harvest.   Our world is so abundant, so generous, despite our harmful actions and disregard.  A slight shift in perspective changes absolutely everything.                                          – By Jenny Folk