A PLANT ON A ROCK IN THE
RIVER
The plant on
the rock in the river caused me to wax philosophically.
How did it
get there? Did a blob of mud just happen
to stick to the rock? Did a seed float
in the breeze and just happen to land and stick in that blob of mud? The river was at a seasonal low point. It would just be a matter of time before a
rainfall would cause the water to rise and the plant on the rock in the river
would wash away.
What was the
purpose of the plant on a rock in the river?
It was a seed which miraculously found a nitch in which to grow into a
plant that had no chance of survival.
Somehow it
spoke to me.
It spoke to
the fragility of life. It demonstrated
how even a tiny seed could fight for life, would cling to a tiny slab of mud
and fight to grow and perhaps reproduce.
Its roots were blocked by solid rock less than an inch below the slab of
mud. A river raged just inches away from pulling
the slab of mud and the plant into its watery demise.
My struggle
with untangling my line was so infinitesimal compared to that plants fight to
exist.
When times
get rough, when life seems hard, I think of that plant on a rock in the
river. The water will inevitably rise,
but that is not an excuse for not clinging to the slab of mud stuck to the
rock. Who really knows when the rain
will come? Who knows if the plant might
just hang in long enough to flower and to have its seeds pollinated and scattered
in the wind to land on another slab of mud and continue the species?
Why does the plant
cling to the mud on the rock in the river?
Because it
can.
Because it
must.
That's life. It's a miracle that we're here in the first place and that we survive for a period of time (some have it much harder than others), but we will ALL some day die. Don't fear it. To fear it will just ruin the time that we have. Just accept it.
ReplyDeleteDid you ever get the line untangled? Or, tell your friend, sorry, I can't join you, I'm waxing philosophical.?
ReplyDeletedeep thoughts by mr. cranky. (instead of jack handy)
ReplyDeleteThe Metolious river in central Oregon has many such things, some have become islands over time. The reason they survive is the river springs nearly full-sized out of the side of a small mountain, and rarely floods.
ReplyDeleteThat's probably why I can't enjoy nature. I don't stop and think about those things! I think it's in the nature of all beings (plant and animal) to fight for survival instinctively, so this is perhaps a biological need for that plant.
ReplyDeleteI think we all fight for survival one way or another. It's what we do. Loved this look at survival.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day. ☺
Is that anything like being a bump on a log?
ReplyDeleteThere is a tree stump in the river around here that grows "hair" when the conditions are right.
ReplyDeleteThis post reminds me of something I read long ago, the first chapter in Michener's "Hawaii." He describes how volcanic rock rose from the ocean and how undigested seeds from bird waste sprung into lush vegitation. Nature is incredible and, like you, I'm awestruck by it all.
ReplyDeleteI have seen similar things. Plants on rocks, trees growing out of stone and I usually have very similar thoughts. Good post.
ReplyDeleteAll of nature seems to have a spirit to survive. I notice the big trees that are growing out of sheer rock, They found just the right speck of dirt where they can develop strong roots.
ReplyDeleteWhat is it the guy in the movie Jurassic Park said?
ReplyDelete"Life will find a way."
That's why.
If I was fishing, I would have snagged my hook in that plant. Its true purpose thus revealed, I would not have waxed philosophical.
ReplyDeleteMuch like those small oddly shaped windblown trees that cling to a crevice in a cliff face.
ReplyDeleteHere's a deep thought: If you eat strawberries just at the point they are about to turn moldy, and then you become constipated, do you then eventually poop moldy berries?
ReplyDeleteLike Bill Bryson says in his book about the natural world: "Life just wants to be, and it doesn't want to be much."
ReplyDelete