Filling the Unforgiving Minute with Nurturing Soil and Sunlight

Giving others additional chances doesn’t mean that we disregard the hurt they might cause us or that we should open ourselves up to constant abuse. But under certain circumstances we can find a way to forgive by recognizing the fact that we all do things from time to time for which we would so appreciate forgiveness, so how wonderful it is that we can give that gift to others.

About a week ago, I noticed that a eucalyptus tree that I’ve been growing from a miniscule seed that at the time was about 18 inches tall and growing like crazy was losing its leaves and and was generally shriveling fast. I jumped into action gently repotting the seedling in a larger pot with rich compost and good nutrients, and gave it a good drink.

Some people swoon about puppies. Well, I feel the same way about seedling. I know—it’s odd. Thus is my life. But those few days of watching one leaf after another fall or being crinkly was devastating for me. I guess the way I look at it is I planted the thing, I nurtured it out of a seed into a real plant. And though I don’t necessarily spent a whole lot of time for my seedlings care, they do require consistent care and this particular plant had been with me for most of the pandemic and so it felt extra significant somehow because of that too.

Just when I was about to give up hope and dealing with the prospect of having to start from scratch and planting a new seed and waiting potentially for another two years to have a seedling grow to the same extend, I approached the plant this morning, and to my wonderful surprise, I saw a new leaf cluster starting to form on the main stem.

I was thrilled in so many ways. I’ll be able to watch leaves grow back up the stem and since the roots and stem seem to remain healthy, I’m hopeful that it might make a full recovery over the next month or so.

One thing I normally really enjoy about plants is that they are rarely complicated. To care for a plant we really only need to do a few very simple things: 1) plant it in good soil appropriate for the type of plant, 2) give it the right amount of sunlight based on the species, and 3) water it sufficiently. I realize these three steps have nuances to them and every plant species may call for varying amounts of these three elements, but assuming that we know the right combination which we can learn pretty easily by a little research and if we follow through with these steps consistently enough, we’ll have healthy plants. Goodness knows, human relationships are not nearly so simple.

Since I know all of this about proper plant health, I knew that I must have missed a step or two with that eucalyptus tree. I’ve deciding that the problem was that I the seedling had outgrown its pot and so although I was watering the plant sufficiently, the amount of soil in the pot wasn’t enough to retain the water the seedling needed to thrive between waterings. So I was putting a strain on the plant every couple of days waiting for the next watering until it finally reached a breaking point.

This discover was useful to me and it might be helpful to some aspiring amateur gardeners out there. But I draw a deeper lesson from this experience. It made me so grateful for second chances. For the chance to fix my mistake without permanent devastating results. There are some actions we take in life that can’t be undone nearly as neatly as I hope to with this seedling. But the experience with this plant has reminded me of how many chances I get to give others and myself second chances. Somehow says something unkind to me. I could write off the relationship entirely or, if the relationship matters to me, I can give a second chance. I’m not consistent with my Spanish learning plan yet again. I can give myself another chance.

Giving others additional chances doesn’t mean that we disregard the hurt they might cause us or that we should open ourselves up to constant abuse. Absolutely not! And sometimes it really is best to cut ties completely, especially when abuse is involved. But other times we can find a way to forgive by recognizing the fact that we all do things from time to time for which we would so appreciate forgiveness, so how wonderful it is that we can give that gift to others. Just like my eucalyptus seedlings has given me a second shot and doing a better job with its care.