This sketch is something I did a long time ago to illustrate perspective – some might think a dandelion is a weed (it technically is)….but of course we make wishes by blowing its fuzz…thus giving it a more magical, beautiful quality.
Sometimes my daughter Gwen breaks the tediousness of the day with a real gem. This Sunday morning I was sipping on Prosecco and Italian gourmet marachino cherries attempting to compose a blog post (as you do), and she burst in with lovely observance…
Ok, so to contextualize, we have a bush that runs along side the house to separate us from the neighbors. When my mom lived here and invested in gardeners, the bush was kept prim and proper – almost geometrically obsessive.
Living in Hawaii means things just grow willy-nilly – I reside on the Windward side where we get a lot of rain and it’s a bit like a jungle at times. I’ve learned to embrace rather than attempt to control nature.
But in the past few years we’ve had a real problem with invasive species. This is the particular “weed” my daughter was referring to… Ivy Gourd.
https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/hisc/info/invasive-species-profiles/ivy-gourd/
It’s fully encompassed the bush and is very difficult to remove (one must do so from the roots).
It’s pretty in its own right (albeit messy), with winding ivy-like leaves and lovely star shaped white flowers. But in the end it smothers other things, shielding them from their much needed sunlight. We’ve tried to keep it in check but at the moment it’s truly out of control. I sigh a bit each time I look out the window.
Gwen wanted to be a “nature witch” for Halloween
Before her comment this morning I’d never considered the possible positive consequences of this “parasite”. She’s been very concerned about the decimation of the bee population (see this Greenpeace link). And she adores plants like her grandmother (I’ve never had a green thumb). Her comments really made me think…
I think we often get caught up in what should be and are thusly blinded to the what could be.
My daughter’s comments were a real lesson for me – a reminder to look at all sides, to seek out other perspectives, and to try to find a positive in the seemingly negative. My desire for a tidy garden is so minimal compared to the planet’s need for bee survival (they really do make the world go around).
As a metaphor, this incident reminds me to be open to others’ views and to not dismiss what I would consider distasteful before examining all aspects. I hope it makes me more selfless in my approach to things in general, as well as more open-minded to the potential in what at first glance is frustrating.
In the end I hope to wish on a weed.
drawn by my daughter Gwen @eggroll_baby on Instagram
No Instagram images were found.
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Amy, this reminds me of your post about balance and seasons. So often we focus our attention of giving student choice and action, without scaffolding to that point.
We cannot just rip the ‘weeds’ out. There must be flowers in their place for the bees. This is not about ignoring the weeds to me, but accepting then for now for the place they serve.
I think that Benjamin Doxtdator captures this in a recent post on instruction in the classroom:
It is about the intent and sometimes that is where the wish lays waiting.
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