Isn't nature fascinating? The way it moves and grows and interacts, the art it produces, the science it closely follows. The ecosystems that would be completely off balance if one small part were damaged or missing.
It was those exact elements of nature that got me hooked. I had never been graced with a green thumb, and in fact, many plants sacrificed their lives in my care.. (Moment of silence.. Especially for my cactus with the flower. That thing was beautiful.)
Eh hemm. Moving along to the great part of this story (3 years later), one of the many skill I have aquired through my very talented fiance' is gardening.
It started as a little seed that we layed down in the soil and covered up with more Earth. We watered it and made sure no other roots would grow up to try to strangle ours. I remember the day I saw it, a couple of weeks later. Poking out, just above the ground, was the beginning of a little plant (with it's seedlings leaves, I now know!). We put this little piece of dorment life into it's place, provided all the elements for it to succeed, and it worked! And it grew, and soaked up the sun, and it took the water it needed. And it bloomed.. it's flowers bloomed and it's fruit came through. Big, juicy, ripe tomatos. The little piece of life that we so persistently and delicately tended to was put on our table to feed our family.
We grew many plants that year; beans, potatos squash, sweet peppers, onions (which we have yet to conquer!), corn, cucumbers. Throughout the process, I read many articles, blogs, books (or pieces of) to learn more about the successes of gardening. One of those articles was about trellis training your cucumbers.
The cucumbers that year were directly planted into the garden soil, as it slowly spread out across it's space, it began to produce some small cucumbers. I wanted to try something different this year. I wanted to try a raised bed with the ability to grow upwards. My fiance' built my cucumber box and trellis and my seedlings went in. They began to grow QUICKLY, and as soon as we tied the plant to the trellis, it took off like wildfire.
The plant is climbing up by itself now, exposing all of its beautiful flowers to the warmth of the sun. Providing all of the elements it needs to grow on its own (with a little help with water and weeding).
It made me think about how true this is with people. We all function and react and grow differently. We tend to want to put people in our same elements that propelled us into growth, when every person grows and learns and functions differently.
Source: https://www.inc.com/lolly-daskal/7-things-really-successful-people-never-do.html
Aren't people fascinating too? If we want to see people produce the best fruit they can, we have to take the time to learn about them, care for them, help them. See what works best for them, not what we think is best. See their needs and meet them, whether we understand it or not. Help give them the tools to succeed on their own. Build a trellis and watch them sprout up, living out their very purpose. Think of a world where there were no damaged or missing people. Although that is near impossible, it is possible to tend to our own people. Meet them where they are and help them grow. Help set them up for success. Trained for success. Trellis trained.