WEEDS OF PERFECTION
While living in a little cottage in
the Blue Mountains a few years ago, I was subjected to an inspection
every three months by the real estate agent managing the property.
Prior to this, I had been house-sitting for several years. So I had not
been familiar with this routine (and found it quite an intrusion).
There was no issue for me to be concerned about with my living conditions. I live with minimal belongings anyway. So my home was easy to keep in comfortable order. What I used to struggle with though, was the need to have the lawns mowed regularly, particularly before an inspection.
I appreciate that many people in suburban areas like their lawns manicured and perfect. I wasn't into letting mine grow into a jungle that would attract snakes or the like. But if not mowed for a while, the lawn would become a blanket of colourful flowers - some that would grow to about a foot tall.
Of course to some people, these were called weeds. They had not been intentionally planted there, but had sprouted of their own desire and resilience. But they were wonderful, attracting bees and other insects, allowing me to observe a whole microcosm of life below knee level. I loved it.
Then every few months, I'd have to mow it all back, to conform to the expectations and the agreement of the lease. It made the cottage blend into the neighbourhood again more uniformly, but it really did not suit the place at all. Once the inspection was over for another three months, the flowers burst back and life at that level returned to a happy state of existence.
The other afternoon, I was out walking around sunset. It was then that I took this photo on my phone, simply on the side of the road as I walked. Although the weeds were different, it reminded me a little of life back at the cottage. The yellow flowers particularly, carpeted the ground as I walked. Bees were busy doing their thing and other insects flew about happily.
I thought about how so many people insist on spraying and killing 'weeds'. It is obviously a matter of perspective. Weeds are sometimes just flowers that have a mind of their own. They grow where they choose to, not where they are forced. If observed from a non-conditioned mind, one not naming them as weeds, they can still bring the same delight to the senses as flowers planted intentionally can.
The whole neighbourhood of this little town is in the middle of springtime right now. Flowers are blooming everywhere. Fruit trees blossom - ready to bring us summer fruits in a few months. Everything is sprouting as the season of birth and renewal unfolds before us. And thankfully, the weeds are in abundance too.
For those people who are not vigilant about mowing their lawns, wild flowers dot their front yards and footpaths. It's beautiful and I love it! The beauty about some weeds is that they flower the first chance they get. So they don't need to create a long jungle of grass before flowering. In fact, some burst forth within only a few days of a lawn being mowed. I love their determination.
These flowering weeds remind me of the beauty of having a free spirit. They grow where they like. They bounce back after adversity. They are an important part of life and the ecosystem they work with. They bring happiness to many people and are rarely perturbed by those who choose not to like them. They are determined. They are colourful. They are happy.
I wouldn't mind being a weed at all. One doesn't need to fit into perfect garden to allow one's beauty to bloom.
So next time you're out weeding, please ask yourself do they really need to be removed? Or is it simply your perspective of them that needs shifting a little? You might be ripping yourself off from a whole new microcosm of life to enjoy, simply because someone calls those determined little flowers 'weeds'.
As the bees flit about in the neighbourhood, I say thanks for those people who don't mow their lawns to perfection, to those who allow the freedom and colours of weeds to bloom (whether they do so intentionally or not).
Sometimes, the most imperfect things actually become the most perfect. Beautiful springtime. Oh how I love thee!
There was no issue for me to be concerned about with my living conditions. I live with minimal belongings anyway. So my home was easy to keep in comfortable order. What I used to struggle with though, was the need to have the lawns mowed regularly, particularly before an inspection.
I appreciate that many people in suburban areas like their lawns manicured and perfect. I wasn't into letting mine grow into a jungle that would attract snakes or the like. But if not mowed for a while, the lawn would become a blanket of colourful flowers - some that would grow to about a foot tall.
Of course to some people, these were called weeds. They had not been intentionally planted there, but had sprouted of their own desire and resilience. But they were wonderful, attracting bees and other insects, allowing me to observe a whole microcosm of life below knee level. I loved it.
Then every few months, I'd have to mow it all back, to conform to the expectations and the agreement of the lease. It made the cottage blend into the neighbourhood again more uniformly, but it really did not suit the place at all. Once the inspection was over for another three months, the flowers burst back and life at that level returned to a happy state of existence.
The other afternoon, I was out walking around sunset. It was then that I took this photo on my phone, simply on the side of the road as I walked. Although the weeds were different, it reminded me a little of life back at the cottage. The yellow flowers particularly, carpeted the ground as I walked. Bees were busy doing their thing and other insects flew about happily.
I thought about how so many people insist on spraying and killing 'weeds'. It is obviously a matter of perspective. Weeds are sometimes just flowers that have a mind of their own. They grow where they choose to, not where they are forced. If observed from a non-conditioned mind, one not naming them as weeds, they can still bring the same delight to the senses as flowers planted intentionally can.
The whole neighbourhood of this little town is in the middle of springtime right now. Flowers are blooming everywhere. Fruit trees blossom - ready to bring us summer fruits in a few months. Everything is sprouting as the season of birth and renewal unfolds before us. And thankfully, the weeds are in abundance too.
For those people who are not vigilant about mowing their lawns, wild flowers dot their front yards and footpaths. It's beautiful and I love it! The beauty about some weeds is that they flower the first chance they get. So they don't need to create a long jungle of grass before flowering. In fact, some burst forth within only a few days of a lawn being mowed. I love their determination.
These flowering weeds remind me of the beauty of having a free spirit. They grow where they like. They bounce back after adversity. They are an important part of life and the ecosystem they work with. They bring happiness to many people and are rarely perturbed by those who choose not to like them. They are determined. They are colourful. They are happy.
I wouldn't mind being a weed at all. One doesn't need to fit into perfect garden to allow one's beauty to bloom.
So next time you're out weeding, please ask yourself do they really need to be removed? Or is it simply your perspective of them that needs shifting a little? You might be ripping yourself off from a whole new microcosm of life to enjoy, simply because someone calls those determined little flowers 'weeds'.
As the bees flit about in the neighbourhood, I say thanks for those people who don't mow their lawns to perfection, to those who allow the freedom and colours of weeds to bloom (whether they do so intentionally or not).
Sometimes, the most imperfect things actually become the most perfect. Beautiful springtime. Oh how I love thee!
