I was leaving a restaurant after lunch, by myself of
course, and noticed a flower that had sprouted in the cement jungle, along the
edge of a curb. My initial thought was that flower is like me; flourishing
alone in a harsh and lonely environment.
The world is most certainly harsh. Everyone wants
something from you, and most often what they want is for you to go away and
leave them alone. Not that they want to be alone. On the contrary, most people
can’t accept being alone; they are just picky about with whom they are not
alone. I am the exact same way. Am I not people? The trick is to find people
with whom you can get along, and them with you; and how much you are willing to
settle in order to not be alone. That is a difference between people: how much
they will tolerate so as to not be alone. I am not much for settling.
That was one thought, anyway.
Another thought: you look at that flower squeezing a life
outta that cement and think about how hard it must be. Life is hard, right?
What a struggle it must have been for that flower. It is inspirational to see
that flower flourishing. A testament to dedication and perseverance. Why, if
that flower can make it against all odds then why can’t I achieve great
things?!
Right. Next thought.
That flower didn’t do a goddamn thing. Or precisely, that
flower is not doing anything more than any other flower. It is simply being
itself. In fact, growing where it is growing is just as easy as growing
anywhere else.
We humans like to confuse odds with effort. When someone
beats the odds then we say it was due to effort, when it was really just luck.
Something had to grow there. This flower grew there. This flower has achieved
something great for being itself; for being the benefit of circumstance. If not
this flower then it would have been another flower, and looked the same to us,
regardless of its actual struggle, or lack thereof.
Celebrities. Famous people. So called high achievers.
They are just like this flower. They are nothing special. They were being
themselves when circumstances elevated them. If not them, then someone else. It is not them but everyone else who makes them what they
are.
