gardeners

when i was in elementary school, my grade put on a performance called "where does your garden grow" or something like that.... in the play we all dressed up like animals and plants and what have you.  i was remembering this while working outside today.


it got me thinking. why dont we treat other human beings like they are plants? like they are flowers? i mean, we spend more time oogling over how pretty that rose is or this tiger lily or that tulip.  but we look at people and dont even stop to appreciate how beautiful and complex he or she is.


nor do we put that much effort into humans.  to keep up a garden, one has to weed and cultivate the soil and prune and water and etc etc etc. we tenderly look over each plant and make sure its needs are met. i dont think so much thought goes into our relationships...


imagine a world where we do care for humans like plants. imagine where we tend to each others' needs, because we want to. and the outcome makes us happy. makes us feel like we've done something. made something grow. accomplished something good.


imagine if we put as much effort as we do into gardening or any hard, laborious, patient-testing task as we do into our relationships. i think our souls would be much healthier...dont you?


and what about sanding and refinishing. as i sanded down my wood in the backyard (deck, hot tub and so) i realized how when a piece of wood is old and worn out, we sand it and refinish it. but when a person is old and worn out, we throw them into a nursing home. what if all they need is just a little bit of extra care and they will be good to go again? what if?


it makes me think that if we respected humans as much as we do a job well done, one that takes patience and care and a little attention to detail, what could happen in return?


it would be absolutely brilliant i think.


i think if we put a little more effort into healing the sick, helping the wounded and supporting the abandoned like we did with other things, the world might actually be a better place, rather than how broken and damned it is now.