3 life-lessons while weeding
Kids are by-nature impatient, and the lockdown has left them even more restless. Like every other parent, last 4-weeks we've experimented with a wide-range of activities to keep our 12 & 15 year olds engaged and positive. Gardening and plantation has been amongst the most productive so far, and today's conversation with my younger one was priceless.
Our small lawn has been untended for the last couple of months; half still had decent grass, while the other half was almost taken over by some new variety of weed with deep roots. And when three generations (daughter, dad & I) work together, there are always interesting discussions.
Anya: How come weeds encroached so much of our lawn?
Me: 'coz we didn't take care. If it's important to us, we must find a way to take care of it, else there is always something or someone that will encroach. Just like you lost an opportunity to represent your group in a competition because you were 15-min late, and someone (less talented) volunteered. The world won't care about the reason (that our gardener isn't available, or we're busy). The weeds found an opportunity and here we are.
Anya, while trying to pull out weeds: These have really deep roots, they are so difficult to pull-out. I thought they are smaller than grass and would be easy to pull.
Me: Yes, roots are what we can't see, but what provides the real strength to the plant. That's how they are able to extract all nutrients and kill the chances of nearby grass - which looks big from above but have shallow roots. When you practice your duck-walk or 2-km running as warm-up before starting basketball practice, it's what given you real strength, deepens your roots. You can't see it, but that's what helps you win during your matches.
Anya: There's a patch of good grass surrounded by weeds, but when you're uprooting the weeds, the nearby grass is also getting killed.
[This one was a difficult one for me to address, but was also the most useful discussion point]
Me: Can you try weeding out everything, but saving every blade of grass?
Anya (after trying a few things): No.
Me: Well, unfortunately that's the reality of Nature, and also of our life. The grass is surrounded by the weeds, and will get killed for no-fault of theirs. Life will seem unfair many times, and you may have to bear the brunt of bad things done by your friends. That's why we encourage you to have good company, good friends. Because you will always be known for the company you keep. If they get punished for their bad deeds, you may also have to bear the brunt - because God (or any person trying to weed out the bad) may not be able to save the grass.
I could feel Anya brooding over our conversation for quite some time afterwards, and I felt grateful that we were able to talk about things that otherwise always sounded like sermons to her. The fact that we have a cleaner lawn now is just a bonus :-)
[PS - the key messages are equally relevant for all of us: as founders, investors and employees]
Chief of Marketing and Product Strategy at Data Vault Alliance, Data Vault 2.0 Authorized Instructor, DV 2.0 Certified Master
4 年Thank you for sharing. Life lessons at home are invaluable. I always maintain that I've learnt a lot more in life from home and others than anything from school.? Unfortunately, we aren't teaching our kids "systems thinking" anymore (since early 1800s) and encourage linear thinking to solve almost everything these days. "How come weeds encroached so much of our lawn?" Because it is a shared space. Nature does not encourage mono-culture. Besides the weeds, insects are required for pollination and birds for eating fruit and spreading seeds. The soil encourages plants that fix it's nutrient ratios. Many weeds are in fact nitrogen fixers. Because we planted only grass (a mono-culture), there will also be weeds as the grass will deplete only the nutrients it needs creating an imbalance. ? "What is the use of this grass?" Well, much of it may be edible. Natural bermuda grass is more nutritious and has many medicinal properties. Dandelion leaves are edible and can be eaten in salads. It costs around $4-5 for a bunch of dandelion leaves at your friendly neighbourhood grocery store. There are so many others where the flowers, leaves, stems or roots are in fact food.
Marketing | Customer Success | PMO | Events Management
4 年Well articulated
Management & Strategy Consultant ( Banking & Corporate Financial Restructuring). Sector Expert & Trainer - SME & Corporate Credit, . Visiting Faculty – NMIMS, Mumbai.
4 年Lovely lesson for all time...simple narration...maximum impact...this is also an art
Deputy Chief Engineer in Department of Atomic Energy(DAE)
4 年More on #parenting?..?