But we need them. We need their experience, their wisdom, their insight into life that was gained the hard way, via experience. They remember what really happened, not what the history books tell us. They have wonderful stories to tell.
Yesterday I found this "volunteer" morning glory vine growing on a fence. It was covered with spent blossoms and what looked like some kind of green berry (do morning glories bear fruit?), but what really caught my attention was that now in October, when we've had near freezing temperatures for several nights, and the days don't reach seventy degrees anymore, the vine was still bursting with new life.
Wonderful twisting buds, just waiting for a touch of warm sun, were dotted here and there all over the vine. Surely, with all the signs that winter is near, this annual plant must know that blooming now is what some would call a "waste of time." After all, the fruits will never develop, so why would the plant use so much energy generating the bloom? It doesn't make evolutionary sense, does it? I mean, how could the bloom benefit the plant at this stage?
And yet it continues to bloom. And so do all the other annuals, raising their beautiful faces to the rising sun while they can. And if you step outside the idea that every living thing only does what directly benefits itself, it becomes obvious that the blooms benefit many others.
For example, it benefits the insects that are still alive and seeking nectar. It's beautiful. I can't explain the jaunty, devil-may-care attitude that I felt coming from this vine. It uplifted me. And I can't help but feel that the plant exists for more than itself. I can read a lesson there.
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