The Wisdom of Succulents

I only journal when times are hard. I just realized that when life is good and I’m not melancholic, I can’t muster the energy to write. The prosaic explanation for this is that suffering invites examination in a way that contentment does not. This makes sense as art and literature have always been the purview of the depressed and mentally unstable.  Recently, I’ve not fallen into either category, hence the lack of blogging…

However, this week marked the one year anniversary of the robbery at my former store and that unleashed a torrent of emotion.  I could not have fathomed back then how different my life would be in just one years time.  My former relationship, former career and the minutiae of daily life were eviscerated.  To be completely honest, I’m still coming to terms with my new life and everything it entails. Some days, I’m grateful for these changes and other times, I’m nostalgic for the past.

On the bright side, I don’t have to commute to a soul-crushing workplace. Only fools and pharmacists work in retail as adults and since I fall into at least one of those categories (if not both), my escape from the rat race is especially sublime.  I’ve shifted my focus to things that fulfill me spiritually. I volunteer with low income kids, and the brief respite from my navel gazing reminds me how fortunate I am in the grand scheme of things.  I’ve also taken up planting succulents. Which brings me to the point of this post: the wisdom of succulents.

I recently made a succulent display for a friend and needed to cut a branch from one of my adult plants to add to said display.  Initially, I was bummed about the prospect of having a lopsided succulent tree, but in a few short days, something beautiful happened.  A new bud grew in the open space that had been previously habited by the cut branch. 

This reminded me that living things are versatile and resilient and antifragile.  The turmoil that we fear and avoid brings about new growth and ultimately, makes us stronger and better.

So life isn’t perfect right now, but it probably never will be.  I am, however, in the process of curating a life that I can be proud of.  Like the little-succulent-that-could, new buds are growing in the areas of my life that received the hatchet treatment last year and that is something to be grateful for.