So I have been attempting to grow Gladiolus. I placed in the little bulbs (or corms, as I learned, is another name for them) into the ground. I have eagerly been watching them for about a month and a half now. I am quite proud of them. They have sprouted and grown rather tall but no blooms yet. In my whining about only having green leaves so far, I was told that I should probably break up the dirt. I was kinda frustrated with that suggestion, that sounds like work. Why would I do that? They are in the ground, shouldn't they just grow, says my immature green thumb.
So google is where I started: Why might you need to break up the dirt? Someone else said: CULTIVATE. Cultivate means to till, plow, prepare for use, pursue, break, dig, turn, develop. This concept makes tremendous sense. So in my particular bed, my Gladiolus get full sunlight all day and they sit on a slope. After a season, maybe seasons, of the dirt never being moved other than when I planted the bulbs, the dirt has become extremely hard. It was also dry and brittle and to be honest it was actually impossible to break with a tall hand tiller. The tiller actually didn't even penetrate the surface of the ground. Ugh, what to do. The next best tool might be a gardening hoe. So off to the shed I went. After finding it, I started whacking away at my small little flower bed. It was tough work. My arms, my shoulders, my hands, my abs, my everything was sore the following day. But it had to be done. Because it was so hard, it was allowing little water to actually seep into the ground, it was simply running off the top. That top layer of dirt was actually blocking the much-needed water that my flowers desperately need as we grow closer to the summer months. I learned that moving and breaking the rock hard dirt around I was technically cultivating the ground. I was opening up the flower bed to receive the nutrients that it needs. The loose soil will hold water much better and store it for the future. This was an ah-ha moment for me.
Not only an ah-ha moment in gardening learning but in life as well. There are several lessons to be learned here. One might be just patience, but we can save that for another day. The word cultivate really resonated with me.
In the events of our world today, I am saddened by the racism that still lives on our nation's city streets. I'm saddened that some feel that their voice isn't heard. I'm saddened by the outrage and disrespect for our country and the violence that seems to follow protestors that want to peacefully make a difference. I'm saddened.
Maybe we have become like the hard dirt in my flower bed and didn't even realize that it needed cultivating. I encourage you to let your hearts break because they need to. Our country thought that we were growing, and we are. We are strong leaves that have sprouted tall, but we can't bloom yet. The water is being blocked by the surface. As a country, we, like the gladiolus may be sitting on a slope that makes it easy for unresolved issues to roll off the top.
Yes, there are many ways to actively make a stand, but first, take an inner look at yourself. Let your current way of thinking be broken, and tilled up. Let your actions be turned in a new directions, so that when the opportunity arises you can allow healing to soak all the way into the roots. Cultivate your hearts, its going to hurt, and you will have sore spots, but it MUST be done, and be done regularly to successfully grow and bloom beautiful communities. Its time to be sensitive but not passive, and vocal but not hurtful. Like the gardening hoe, its job is only to disrupt the hardness but not to slice too far, it could be damaging to the root. When the issues begin to be talked about, and ears are open, We can begin to see all color bloom and blossom and make this world the way it was intended and created to be.
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