You would be well aware of the cactus plant. We all have seen it grow somewhere near our house. It was this specific plant that made me who I’m today. I’m a curator with an utmost love for nature and art. You could call me a person who is fond of plants and gardens, but it was only recent advancements that made me the person who would not mind getting his hands dirty and sweating through the day, in order to bring into life the tiny little seeds and shoots each day. And I won’t hitch a little to admit that I enjoyed my work. But I wouldn’t have find my jinx if this one small yet significant incident hadn’t occurred in my life.
When I was a kid, we had a little cactus plant which was planted in a very decorative vase, kept on the roof. We had a little home garden in our roof thatch and that place was my refuge. I would spend hours admiring the cactus as it stood different from the rest. That’s the first thing which lured me towards it. And believe me it was just a start. Slowly steadily, the fondness grew a lot more. I would talk to that plant for hours, water it. Although I knew that these plant need minimum water to survive. They have evolved themselves this way, but my fondness almost blinded me. I wanted this plant to be the best. I wanted this plant to bloom beautiful leaves and flowers. So I nurtured it as if it was my child. I was confident in my venture and believed that the thorns of the plant can never prick me or cause me pain as I was loving it with all my heart and giving it all it ever wanted.
The day reached when the clouds of my misunderstandings were now about to precipitate. It was time for me to know the truth. I happened to somehow lose my balance and about to fall down the stairs and that’s when I reached to get hold of something to prevent the fall. And guess what I reached for. Yes! “The cactus”. Though I didn’t fall but I was terribly bruised and bleeding through my right arm because of the cactus pricks. And that was an eye opener for a kid like me. Like it just pricked the bubble I was living into until now. The cactus was never in need of “water” I offered it- day and night. I wanted the cactus to bloom! That was my first mistake. Cactus is not meant for that. They are meant for many things, but not that.
For so many years I paid no attention to any other plant whatsoever. Full of resentment and feeling betrayed, I looked up to the sky and yelled to the big man above. I yelled and yelled, asked for answers that if my love have gone into waste; What good did all these years brought me; I wasted my precious time and attention for a reason and for the plant that were by all means never to be gratified. Then what I discovered at that moment is a lesson I treasure to this day in my life. I saw a big outlet outside the vase. All the water I was brimming up into the cactus, was actually also going out to the bed my mother had made for new exotic flower seeds. She got it from our neighbour who claimed that it was nearly impossible to get these little devils pop out of the soil of our country and my mother decided to take the challenge and seeing me so fascinated with the roof garden, gave me the task of watering those exotics.But as I said, it was only cactus which was worth to me, so I never actually pour my love to those exotics. Despite this, when I went closer to the quarry and to my surprise; there were saplings all around the soil. I jumped with both enjoyment and enchantment. I couldn’t believe it was me who was responsible for bringing these plants to life. It is one in a million feeling when you see the plants you grow, come to life. That was the moment I cherish till today and if it wasn’t for the cactus, I would have never realized that “Who are those, who are worth my time”. I almost forgot the pain from all the bruises. Indeed some lessons in life are learnt with pain and better they arrive early in life so that you can recover speedily and live rest of your days remembering the experiences and not the pain!
When I was a kid, we had a little cactus plant which was planted in a very decorative vase, kept on the roof. We had a little home garden in our roof thatch and that place was my refuge. I would spend hours admiring the cactus as it stood different from the rest. That’s the first thing which lured me towards it. And believe me it was just a start. Slowly steadily, the fondness grew a lot more. I would talk to that plant for hours, water it. Although I knew that these plant need minimum water to survive. They have evolved themselves this way, but my fondness almost blinded me. I wanted this plant to be the best. I wanted this plant to bloom beautiful leaves and flowers. So I nurtured it as if it was my child. I was confident in my venture and believed that the thorns of the plant can never prick me or cause me pain as I was loving it with all my heart and giving it all it ever wanted.
The day reached when the clouds of my misunderstandings were now about to precipitate. It was time for me to know the truth. I happened to somehow lose my balance and about to fall down the stairs and that’s when I reached to get hold of something to prevent the fall. And guess what I reached for. Yes! “The cactus”. Though I didn’t fall but I was terribly bruised and bleeding through my right arm because of the cactus pricks. And that was an eye opener for a kid like me. Like it just pricked the bubble I was living into until now. The cactus was never in need of “water” I offered it- day and night. I wanted the cactus to bloom! That was my first mistake. Cactus is not meant for that. They are meant for many things, but not that.
For so many years I paid no attention to any other plant whatsoever. Full of resentment and feeling betrayed, I looked up to the sky and yelled to the big man above. I yelled and yelled, asked for answers that if my love have gone into waste; What good did all these years brought me; I wasted my precious time and attention for a reason and for the plant that were by all means never to be gratified. Then what I discovered at that moment is a lesson I treasure to this day in my life. I saw a big outlet outside the vase. All the water I was brimming up into the cactus, was actually also going out to the bed my mother had made for new exotic flower seeds. She got it from our neighbour who claimed that it was nearly impossible to get these little devils pop out of the soil of our country and my mother decided to take the challenge and seeing me so fascinated with the roof garden, gave me the task of watering those exotics.But as I said, it was only cactus which was worth to me, so I never actually pour my love to those exotics. Despite this, when I went closer to the quarry and to my surprise; there were saplings all around the soil. I jumped with both enjoyment and enchantment. I couldn’t believe it was me who was responsible for bringing these plants to life. It is one in a million feeling when you see the plants you grow, come to life. That was the moment I cherish till today and if it wasn’t for the cactus, I would have never realized that “Who are those, who are worth my time”. I almost forgot the pain from all the bruises. Indeed some lessons in life are learnt with pain and better they arrive early in life so that you can recover speedily and live rest of your days remembering the experiences and not the pain!
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