The Disorientation of Growth

I love growth.  I love every element of growth.  Especially fresh growth.


One of my favourite trees is the Japanese maple.  It is deciduous and changes colour all through the year until it loses its leaves in winter, leaving a most beautiful shadow of branches and balance.
Of all the seasons, I love seeing this tree in the spring, as the bright fresh green leaves come through and make for a stunning contrast against the wood. And that is before the sun comes out!
When we see plants growing, we come to understand all the parts of growth.  As children we learn that plants start with a seed, and with the right amount of water, soil and temperature, the seed will start growing and come through the soil.  We learn quite quickly too that these little sprouts or seedlings are fragile.  If they are stepped on or not sheltered from the wind or the cold or get too much water or sun they can die quickly.  They need nurturing, not attack.

Even young plants can often do with a helping hand, some guidance whether in the form of a guide stick and some string or a milk carton, it can be compromised in its development at this early stage.
In both of these stages of growth, it really helps to keep the space free of hostile or more dominant plants which can take away the space, the nutrients and the light needed for these plants to grow.  The environment will make a big difference to the growth and development of your little plants.

In adult form some plants appear independant, needing nothing or noone! Whether provided by man or nature, others still benefit from a trellis or something to drape over in order to be most productive.
If you are hoping or waiting for fruit or vegetables to grow, there is even more need to pay attention to the conditions, the protection and the overall environment.  With the added challenge of active challenges like insects and birds who are also attracted to fruit and vegetables.

 None of this information so far is new. I know you know it already.

One thing however, which may feel new, is taking a moment to think about this growth as a life experience.  Let's move away from plants and to humans.

We too 'burst through' and arrive on this planet very fragile and very shocked.  As I referred to in a previous blog post "The amazing power of pressure",  I don't know that many of us would ever voluntarily leave this space if we didn't have to.
As parents, carers or simply a visiting friend, we all inherantly understand that this tiny human needs nurture and care.  If we were to give it some thought, we would easily see how this time is an overwhelming sensory experience for a baby.  Leaving constant food, warmth and shelter and now having to learn what the body is and how to do things like eat and move gas through the intestines!  From the scary to the confusing to the somewhat nice, it is a time of incredible growth but what a disorienting time it must be.

As we progress through our stages of childhood development into our human adult form, our physical growth slows down.  However growth continues in other equally amazing ways.  In many societies we encourage academic learning ie. active absorption of data and patterns and knowledge as gained from the past.  There are still societies where 'school' either doesn't exist or isn't a focus however learning about the environment and the patterns of nature is encouraged. Or the focus may be on learning and refining body movement and skills such as weaponry and markmanship for hunting.  All this to ensure the child is ready to take on the duties, roles and obligations within their societies working world, the one which must sustain and continue to provide for future generations.  Whether this is becoming a banker or mechanic or a hunter who needs to provide food for the tribe, our learning experience is based on repetition, exposure and trial and error in some form.

For some people, there is another learning pathway that opens up.  The path of self discovery, learning more about your self, the way you work not as a biological human but as an interactive being.  This path opens up and seems to lead us towards becoming of greater service or more fruitful during your lifetime. This learning, like school is sometimes imposed upon us in the form of harsh experiences or a condition which demands attention, not just 'going away' by making external changes.  For others it is a conscious choice, simply a knowing that there is more to learn or an interest which has to be satisfied.  This is referred to in many different ways - self development, personal growth, self discovery and so the titles continue.  Though there is not always a clear aim, there is usually a hunger, a yearning or calling to keep walking and keep moving.  For many people, even when they want to stop, they simply can't.  I'd imagine it is similar to being a plant which suddenly finds itself growing more and bearing fruit no less.  The poor avocado plant must go into shock when it suddenly finds itself doing way more than just being a tree after three or more years!


Anyway, back to people.  Why are we so harsh on ourselves as adults?
Is it that hard to imagine that personal growth is disorienting too?  It isn't just a baby that experiences the shock of a new environment, lights and noises become too bright and suddenly finding that getting food is a job, something to be learnt!  Toddlers and teenagers and suddenly entering a working world is just as disorienting.  Suddenly, even the familiar is no longer looking friendly.

It can be easy to forget, that it is all through life that growth finds us shedding things that need to be cleaned up. Clothes that are too small are no different from the leaves or bark that a tree leaves behind.  A teenager that is now gainfully employed fulltime, finds that they must shed their freedom of time as they have grown into a job which consumes time and they must act reliably rather than by their mood or feeling.  An adult who stops their full time soul draining job to become a travel blogger and writer, finds that they must give away some ideas, beliefs and illusions all the while stepping into their chosen and preferred path.  It can be as bewildering as it is exciting.

Certainly, it can be as bewildering as it is liberating.  Just as a flower opens up its petals to face the sun for the first time - the experience of growth is an amazing one but we must be kinder, gentler on ourselves and others and allow ourselves time to adjust to the new moments.  Understanding, just like the baby, we too can feel disoriented and overwhelmed in the first times of an experience, even if we are perfectly ok.