Being a nature lover, I am fascinated by many things and one of these is trees. Their progress right from seed to mature trees is a whole journey with so many lessons. Today, I would like to focus on the period between a seed and seedlings up to the time they are transferred to the seedbed.
A seed has life in itself but it is in dormancy. It can never become a tree until it is exposed to the right conditions. This is done in a nursery. Here the seeds are buried in shallow fallows and buried a few centimetres into the ground. They are then watered continuously until they sprout. Tender care continues until they are mature enough to be transferred to the main planting area. At the nursery, the seedlings are given a time to adapt to the conditions they will spend the rest of their lives in. The duration at the nursery is dependent upon the type of seed. There are some which will take longer than others but finally, they will be ready to leave the nursery.
This brings me to this week’s discussion. There has been a lot of talk and complaints about people past twenty five years, who are working but are still living with their parents. Questions are always raised as to why this happens. Some cite a lack of maturity, while others say it is a fear of responsibility. As I tried to dig deeper in to this issue, I discovered that it is affecting so many areas of our lives and cuts across age, gender, religious and social divide.
Many people go to school and once they attain a certain level of education and are able to earn a living, they believe this this enough. For those in business and entrepreneurship, they put a mental ceiling on how far they will grow and the profits they will make. They build a house called “comfort zone” where one is just getting by. Few want to move from that pay slip or profit margin or even that minimum basic education. Many fear to venture out from the nursery to the seedbed because they believe there, the risks are too much and many don’t want to be held responsible or accountable. Many of us would rather try the easy route and win, than try a difficult option and risk losing and with this, the ridicule that comes with it.
If seedlings overstay in a nursery, due to competition for nutrients and sunlight, they grow very tall but have no body. They are usually very thin and cannot withstand strong winds or storms. This also applies to us if we remain on one level of life for longer than necessary; we risk stagnation and ultimately , “premature death” to our dreams and aspirations. Due to the competitive nature of life at the lower wrung, few are able to develop the stamina and character needed for life at the upper levels of life. We need to know when our time at one level of our lives is over so that we may transition in to the next. Overstaying in one area is more risky than venturing into the unknown. A chick in an egg is safe and comfortable but the risk of dying in there if it overstays is higher than when it is out. Friends, it is time to exit our “nurseries” and move to the fields where there is more space or us to grow and spread our wings and a higher and better chance of growth. To read more posts by Mwangi, click HERE
Photo Credit: http://www.aspen-nursery.com
