Growth in a Box

The month of April indicates a time for gardeners to start sowing their seeds, animals become "twitterpated" (couldn't resist the Bambi scene in my head), people start to open windows in their home and feel energized for some Spring Cleaning.  It's not just bears who hibernate over the winter, we all do!  We've locked ourselves up warm and comfortable indoors, the days seem dark and dreary without an ounce of sunshine, we begin to dream of warmer seasons and wish the snow away. 

Have you used your winter hibernation wisely?  Did you read a great classic to pass the time or cuddle up to a good movie with the ones you care about?  Did you quilt, scrapbook, or make something for future enjoyment?  Did your dreams of warmth have you planning out your garden while you rifled through every seed catalog that came in the mail with beautiful colors on the cover?  How have we grown or prepared to grow?



"What greater wealth is there than to own your life and to spend it on growing?  Every living thing must grow.  It can't stand still.  It must grow or perish."



Own your life . . . Grow or perish . . . this plant on the left looks like it's options were limited but that isn't stopping it from growing!  The above quote is from Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged.  I love Ayn Rand's voice in her books as I feel I can connect with her strong female characters and their reasoning.  Most of these female characters refuse to live within the confinement of what others think they should behave like or accept the social norm as their own plight.  They accepted challenge much like the plant in the crack saying "I'll just find a way to grow on my own and in my own way!"



Take for example Japan's farmers who have created the square watermelon.  Have you even heard of this?  The square watermelon is grown within a box created to perfectly fit the size restraints of a Japanese refrigerator.  That was the entire purpose of a square watermelon, convenience to please the masses!  I'm sure they also found it cute and attractive as well but let's apply this example to real life, I'm finding it way too easy at this point! 

As a young girl myself I found that i didn't like the box that people were trying to stuff me into.  I was told I was too squirrely, talked to much, needed to play nicer with the other girls, act like a lady, share my toys better and should quit trying to compete with the boys!  I say "Bah!"  Now there are good lessons hidden in there, but I just had to make sense of them for myself.  Rather than just trying to grow into other's expectations I pick and choose what works best for me.  So I'm squirrely, well that's just unharnessed energy . . . talk too much, well I do make more of an effort to remember I have "2 ears and 1 mouth" so I might be able to reply vs. just talk . . . need to play nicer with other girls, I've accepted that you can't be best friends with everyone and surrounded my self with the ones that I really click with! . . . Act like a lady, well I lack some tact but like to think I can be charming . . . share my toys, no way! People care less for borrowed items than that which they've worked hard for and own themselves . . . quit trying to compete with the boys, you obviously don't know me that well!  Overall I like to think I'm similar to the aggressive plant's growth chart here.  Know yourself better than anyone else, love and embrace who you are . . . the good and the bad. When the box/mold you are forced to grow into no longer fits, you need to break out and make your own way even if it's only possible through a crack!