So much wisdom from one small vegetable!
OK, so I’m not the world’s most gifted green thumb but when I planted my winter veggies back in April, I did expect to be harvesting a few fresh cauliflowers by the end of June. The label even said they’d be ready within eight weeks.
By the end of July I had promising looking leaves but no cauliflowers. In late August the leaves were even bigger but nothing more. By September I’d forgotten all about them and given up. It looked like a self-fulfilling prophecy – I’m hopeless at growing veggies and this proved it!
The vegetable patch was soon taken over by enthusiastic weeds as I resigned myself to failure and other priorities took over. The cold wet winter gave way to warm spring sunshine and towards the end of October, I decided to give up on the winter crop.
Besides it was time to plant fresh lettuce, baby cucumber and sweet tomatoes and transfer my hope to the lovely tastes of summer.
Approaching the veggie patch to clear it all out and start again I suddenly stopped. There, to my amazement, was a perfect cauliflower, peering up at me amidst the weeds! A few days later, two more beautiful cauliflowers appeared. Nearly seven months after they were planted, they'd finally decided the time was right.
Here’s what I’ve learnt from such a seemingly mundane event:
- Don’t give up too soon – success could be just around the corner
- Surprises happen when you least expect them and are all the sweeter for waiting
- Expectation often generates disappointment
- Many things happen in their own good time if you simply ‘leave them be’
- Patience is a seriously underrated virtue
These are all timely reminders for anyone experiencing change. Whether you're redesigning your life – changing jobs, relationships, where or how you live or going through change in your workplace, pearls of wisdom will make the transition easier.
Who knew I could learn so much from a cauliflower? Now that my conscious awareness is switched on, I’m looking for learning and timely reminders everywhere.
What unexpected life lessons have you learnt from an unconventional ‘teacher’?
Carpe diem
