Lessons from an Avocado
If you have a green thumb and love growing plants, this blog won’t be anything you don’t already know. I love plants. I have grown various plants over the years, but I never took the time to learn as much as I needed to in order to be a successful “plant farmer”. (Is that a thing? I don’t know but I couldn’t think of what to call someone who grows plants.) Oh whoops. I just looked it up. Apparently, it’s called a “gardener”. Who knew? It’s always a good time to expand my vocabulary…but now I’m kind of wondering why that simple word wasn’t already in my vocab. Oh well. That’s a blog for later. I’m getting way off track ;).
This morning I watched a short video with my daughter who also loves plants but she actually takes the time to read about how to grow them. It was a video showing how to sprout an avocado seed and turn it into a house plant. Cool huh? My daughter has been trying to do this for years but hasn’t been successful. It’s not complicated but it is very specific. One part of the video really caught my attention. Once the seed sprouts and grows a beautiful stem with several happy leaves, you must cut it back. This means once it hits 6 inches, you chop it back to 3 inches which means it loses all of its leaves. Suddenly it’s just a 3-inch stub. Sad as hell! I was horrified! It looked like the gardener just flat-out killed it. He said to continue doing this until it expands and grows lots of branches outward instead of one tall gangly stem with a few leaves. After several timely pruning sessions you have a plant that is ready to thrive in your house provided it has plenty of sunshine and an annual trim to prevent a leggy plant.
Well, now my interest was peaked. So I looked it up. Turns out this guy was right and isn’t a plant murderer. So why so much trimming? How do these things grow and produce in the wild if people aren’t there to keep pruning them? I was shocked to read that the outdoor avocado plants, (technically they are trees), don’t even start to branch out until they reach heights of about 6 feet. Mature wild avocado trees are often 30-40 ft with some reaching as tall as 80 ft. Whoa. However, if you want to grow this tree indoors and not have to worry about it getting decapitated by your ceiling fan, you will need to do a bit of pruning in the early stages so that it reaches out instead of up.
By this point, I’m kinda geeking out. I find this all so fascinating! For starters, it’s freaking cool that we can “train” plants to grow a certain way. Plants have been around for millions of years and don’t need us to teach them how to grow. They have it all in their DNA. But apparently, they have the beautiful ability to adapt and grow differently when they are damaged. It can’t feel good to a plant when we chop off most of its body. It just can’t. Plants are people too. #inowhavesomuchmorerespectforplants. But instead of giving up and dying when they are pruned, they find a new way to grow. And they don’t just grow; they freakin’ thrive! Instead of becoming the giant tree it would be in the wild, it adjusts and becomes a beautiful, bushy plant to adorn your house. Damn!
Now I’m asking myself “What can I learn from this amazing plant?” I am often in awe of nature. Riding my bike into the coffee shop this morning I was thinking about it all. It struck something emotional in me. There have definitely been times in my life when I felt like the good stuff got fucking chopped off and all that was left of me was a pitiful, heartbroken stem. Damn. Tears. During this time, I didn’t think there was any way that I would ever regrow all those leaves and reach that height again. Life felt bleak and hopeless. The thought of cultivating enough energy and desire to grow again felt beyond my ability.
After the initial shock, I eventually sought help. Over time, I started generating enough energy to take a fresh start. It was slow; quite painful at times but I continued to find a new way. I reached out. As I expanded my horizons I found this strange but invigorating freedom. I began to grow more leaves than I ever had before. And the craziest thing I am learning is that the more pruning “setbacks” that life brings me only make me come back stronger with twice the abundance. Don’t get me wrong. I goddamn HATE when life comes in with the pruning shears. Most of the time I go into sulking afterward and have to deal with a lot of frustrated and angry feelings. But maybe that’s okay. I doubt the plant loves being pruned. So I am learning to give myself space to feel the pain and grieve the loss. As I recover, I take a deep breath and get to my growing.
Sure, I would love to be a wild, avocado tree and never have to have my branches chopped off, but the reality is I live in a messy world. I am a human who will experience pain all throughout my life. There’s no way around that. But just like plants, I too have this amazing ability to adapt and find new ways to thrive in every different situation. Yes, it’s hard. Yes, it sucks. Yes, sometimes I kick and scream and wish I just lived in a wild forest. But eventually, I find the strength to put on my big girl panties and decide to use my prefrontal cortex.
Today I feel empowered. I feel inspired. If an avocado tree can do it, then so can I. And so can you.
The saying “tree hugger” just took on a whole new meaning for me. From now on, I will be taking time to say “thank you” to the plants and trees I pass by. This lesson has been impactful and important for my growth and I hope you also are enlightened.
Cheers to being badass humans committed to adapting, growing, and thriving amidst all the shit that comes our way! And when you get down and discouraged my friend from those frustrating setbacks, just remember “You’re a goddamn avocado tree!”
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