What do you gain by letting go?
by Robert Meagher on 04/21/15
This story was 20+ years in the making. Fortunately, it
will not take as long to share. For
some, this will seem like a silly, little story. However, the lesson embedded in the story is
one I hope I have finally learned. And in sharing it with you I hope you can
learn it too.
Many years ago, decades ago, I had a rare plant in my
life. For you budding botanists out
there, the plant was an Epiphyllum Ackermannii; the common name for this plant
is ‘orchid cactus’. The orchid cactus is
an exquisite plant. Untidy in
appearance, the flowers that are produced are extraordinary in every way. The sheer size of the fluted flower (some 3”
x 5” in diameter) is awe-inspiring and the deep, deep red color of the flower is
enchanting. The plant was in my life for
a few years, faithfully producing exquisite bloom, after exquisite bloom, each
year it was in my life. When I moved,
the plant did not come with me.
Many years passed and I moved into a new home that
provided ample natural light for house plants.
As I was going through my antique plant encyclopedia one day, dreaming
of all the plants I could adorn my new home with, I came across the orchid
cactus. Remembering how much joy it
brought into my life in the past, and thinking I could provide the proper
conditions for such a plant to thrive in my new home, I sought to bring an
orchid cactus back into my life.
Much to my surprise and disappointment, no floral stores
or greenhouses in my city carried this plant.
I searched, and searched, and searched some more, and not a single store
or supplier in my city or province carried or bred orchid cactuses. Not wanting to give up on my dream, I turned
to my good friend Mr. Google of the internet-family of search engines and found
a botanist in California who bred a hybrid form of orchid cactus. We exchanged a few emails and I was
fascinated to be informed that the international botanist community had stopped
breeding the rare and exquisite orchid cactus many years before. However, this California-based botanist had
made her life passion in breeding a new, hybrid-form of orchid cactus for mass
enjoyment. Without hesitation, I had a
few cuttings of this hybrid orchid cactus shipped from California, United
States, to Ottawa, Canada.
The cuttings arrived a few days later and I immediately
planted the cuttings, carefully following the California-botanist instructions
for soil, water and other care. It was
late summer and I had no expectations the plant would produce any growth for
the remainder of the season.
The following spring arrived, and one day I noticed a
flower bud starting to form on one of the cuttings planted the previous
summer. I became very excited! The thought of being able to see an exquisite
orchid cactus flower brought great joy into my life.
As the weeks went on, the trajectory of the sun was
shifting fast; too fast in fact. During
the winter and spring months, the orchid cactus was getting full sun. But now that summer was hinting at its
forthcoming presence in our lives, the sun rose so high in the sky, so quickly,
that the sun no longer was shining directly on the orchid cactus. And then one day I noticed the flower bud
that had been growing, and growing, and growing, started to change color (not
good!) and starting to shrivel up (not good!).
It was now late April and my partner suggested I place
the orchid cactus outside in the front garden where it would get full sun all
day. While this seemed like a reasonable
suggestion, I balked at the idea of placing this precious (to me) plant outside
in the elements. I feared the
temperatures (it was still quite cool at night) would stunt the plants growth,
or that nature’s creatures would take up residence in the cactus and leave it
battered and broken. So I resisted the
idea, I held on.
Each passing day saw the flower bud shrivel more and
more. I was saddened. My dream of seeing this extraordinary flower
in full bloom was fading with every day.
Again, my partner suggested I place the plant outside in the front
garden. Again, I resisted. I held on.
Finally, I had nothing to hold on to. The bud shrivelled up and fell off the
stalk. Not to sound too dramatic, but it
was a day of mourning for me.
My partner suggested again, “Put the plant in the front
garden. Maybe other blooms will
sprout.” Knowing that blooming plants
like orchid cactus have cycles of blooming each year (and typically only once
per year), I realized that my opportunity to see my orchid cactus in full bloom
for this year had passed. With the
acceptance of this in mind, I ‘let go’ and placed the plant outside in the
front garden.
As I placed the orchid cactus in its new home for the
summer months, I thanked the plant for gifting me with the joy and excitement
over seeing this rare species of plant sprout and flower. As each day passed, and I walked by the
orchid cactus in the garden, I gave it thanks for all the joy it brought into
my life.
A couple of weeks had passed since I placed the orchid
cactus in the front garden and one day I noticed a little growth coming out
from the side of one of the stalks of the plant. I looked closely at the growth and to my
delight I realized it was a new bloom sprouting! As I examined the plant more closely, I
counted a total of 8 new blooms sprouting!
And that turned into 12 new blooms a couple of days later. I was so excited at this turn of events. And then it dawned on me…
Look at what I gained by letting go! I had held on, and held on, to the idea of
placing the orchid cactus outside in the front garden. I held on so long that the very thing I
wanted to happen, the flower to bloom, I prevented from doing so. When I finally let go, a whole new world of
possibilities opened up for me.
I hope to carry this lesson with me as I move forward in
life. How about you?
Shanti, Namaste, Agapé,
