In a few months, we in the USA will be celebrating our country’s 250th birthday. Yes, we forced the British out of our land and began our own governing process by setting up a set of rules that are unique to the rest of the world. We thought we were hot stuff! Little did we know that the British left behind small, green land bombs that plague us to this day, almost 250 years later. We call them DANDELIONS. Now, to be fair, it is noted that ‘Europeans’ brought over these plants, but we all know the Brits were behind it the whole time.
Dandelions are small, low-growing plants that shoot up tiny, darling, yellow flowers that look like miniature Chrysanthemums. The early settlers brought them over to our previously uninfected land and planted them. Then they harvested the roots and made Dandelion Tea.
The problem with Dandelions? They have very deep roots for such a tiny, low-growing plant. They propagate without the help of farmers, or special equipment, or fertilizer. Instead, they allow their dainty little yellow flowers to morph into round globes of fairy seeds, each with a white end making them appear irresistible to the naive. As a child, I succumbed to the lie, “If you blow on one globe, allowing the seeds to float off into the great expanse of your father’s expensively maintained grass, your wish will come true.” Each dandelion flower has up to 200 seeds.
I can picture the British marching onto their ships, or across the Canadian border, stopping only long enough to whisper into some children’s ears, “If you blow on just one globe…” And that is how the British won their last battle. This is your history lesson for the day.
Now to my real point. Our lives are like gardens. There are many weeds that we can bend to pluck out of the ground, cleaning the beautiful areas of our lives. And then, there are the Dandelions. We can let just one slip by because the mini-yellow flower is cute, sticking up out of the middle. What harm could it possibly cause? Seemingly, overnight, the dainty flower will turn into an exploding fairy bomb, infecting the rest of your previously maintained body, or spirit, or psyche, leaving you to become frustrated or overwhelmed.
You cannot just use your fingers to pluck up the culprits. You need to get down on your knees and use a special tool. If you pull out the green plant only, the root can and will regenerate a new plant. The tool, pictured above, must sink down deep into the soil, and to the base of the root. Then, you can pull the whole plant up and out. It is not an easy task.
Sometimes, there are weeds in my life, long allowed to root deep, that I must work hard at removing and replacing. Sometimes I don’t get all of the root, and the unwanted weed pops up again. Then I must decide whether to allow it to remain or to remove the deeper root, often disturbing the good part of my personal landscape for a while.
Perhaps I am being too harsh. Perhaps the British were not waging one last battle with the American upstarts. Perhaps they wanted to give their unruly children a lesson on how weeds can affect a person, wishing us the best on our newfound independence.
NAH!
Leave a Reply