Bonsai. Part II

 

I suggested an idea I had about a series of posts basically discussing some influential people in my life who shaped the way I think and view the world.  Seemed like a good idea at the time.

I think it was disingenuous.

At the moment I was considering it, my thought process was probably “If I lay out how I got here, it may affect how others think and view the world.” Admittedly, that’s not the way it really worked for me, so I shouldn’t expect it to work that way for anyone else.

Yes, those people I had in mind did indeed have an influence on me, but the process has been over a lifetime.  Even if I tried, I wouldn't remember them all... there were innumerable people and circumstances in that process, over the course of 60 plus years.

So my re-telling of my own experience would be just that… my OWN experience, with an end result unique to me. What would be the point of all that energy poured into recounting my own influences?  It would be a lot of effort with little, if any, fruit from it.

In other words, it would be just a lot of talk. I think we are weary of talk.

So what DO I do?

At the moment, much of my energy is poured into my work.  I go to work, and I do my job.  I try to be helpful.  I try to be kind.  I listen to what people need and attempt to fill that need. I listen to people who want to vent, and try to offer something positive. I get people to help me when I need help, and thank them for doing that. 

I try my best to build relationships.

At the end of the day, I come home with the feeling I have accomplished something… something much more than talk.  It is infinitely more satisfying than talk alone. 

Bonsai - "Planted in a Container"

Yesterday Elias and Michelle gifted Tina, Tina's mom,  and me to a day at the PHS Philadelphia Flower Show. It was a beautiful gesture on their part, especially given the love that Tina and her mother have of horticulture. I did in fact find it a pleasure, and found a few things of special interest.

One was the Bonsai display. 

This tree was started a few years after I was born. So it's old.

 

I present it here as a symbol of my life.  I too, as the definition of Bonsai goes, was planted in a container.  That container has changed over my lifetime, starting with my family, then moving to college life, the Army, Philadelphia for a short season, and then to the community in which I now reside.

All along the way, just as this tree has been, I was pruned.  I was pruned by various people, various circumstances, various communities.  And now, as this tree is emblematic of the careful hands of a gardener, I represent 60 plus years of pruning and care by the people around me.

Each of those people pruned and shaped me a little differently.  Each took swipes at various parts of my being.

If I get the motivation, I may map out those caregivers in my life, and lay out the work they did.  It will take me a long time to do that, as it was a slow process, and is still happening daily.

Just as this tree has undergone slow transformation, hopefully for the better, I trust that I too have undergone a slow and meticulous transformation under the careful hands of my pruners. You may not care for the end result, which is fine, but it is the to-date result of people I appreciate.

Perhaps you will enjoy reading about my pruners and their work.  If so, keep an eye out.

Peace