Surprises of Life
What happens when you plant seeds from the same stock in the same soil? Surprises!
Life is full of surprises. I have observed that when I nurse seeds for planting, they hardly germinate at the same time. At first I thought it might be because some of the seeds were store-bought and therefore might be from different fruits or sources.
However, when I started harvesting and nursing seeds from my own garden, the trend remained the same. I pick a couple of seeds – let’s say sweet basil. I prepare my soil or compost, depending on which I intend to use; place the seeds in the soil and cover them uniformly.
Because I am nursing them in the same container, they are watered at the same time each day, and enjoy equal amounts of nutrients and sun exposure. Still, they germinate at different times.
While some seeds germinate within the estimated or ideal time frame, others germinate much later.
“This one thing I know, it is not over until you give up.”
Persistence Is Key
Here comes the cool part! Germinating on schedule did not guarantee proper growth and fruition. In the same vein, late germination did not mean stunted growth.
I watched a late-blooming bell pepper over-take the early bloomers in the time it took to produce fruits, and the quality of its fruits. I have also witnessed early bloomers maintain their pace all the way. Late bloomers and early bloomers at some point flowered and produced fruits at the same time.
Frankly speaking, one of the most surprising moments was, watching a seemingly stunted seedling become the leader of the pack. As most gardeners do, after seeds have sprouted, there is a thinning period where we take out the not so strong or good looking ones to give more room to the healthy ones.
For some reason, there was this particularly ill looking seedling that I could not bring myself to uproot. Every time I tried, I hesitated. Eventually, I told myself to let it be, since they were not that many to start with, and there was enough room for all to grow well. I figured, if it dies by itself, so be it. Guess what? Within the period, by the time I was ready to transplant, the healthiest looking of the pack had died; and the one I thought would not survived was still standing, looking better with each passing day. It made it into transplant. It made it into full maturity.
Life Can Be Funny
This one thing I know, it is not over until you give up. So long as you decide not to give up, things can turn around in a way no one, not even you, imagined possible. So long as there is life, there is always hope. We each have the instinct to thrive. Trust God; Trust Life; Trust yourself. Ignore the false starts, the bad experiences, the unfavourable circumstances. Life is full of surprises. You just might surprise yourself if you keep up.
Augustina O. Oti-Twumasi is a communications strategist, and L&D practitioner. she loves to inspire change in herself and in others. She does this through her work as a Training and Workshop Facilitator, Learning and Development Consultant, Creative Writer, Life Coach, and Integrated Marketing Communications Strategist.
