Heroes Not Zombies

What’s this flower doing?

No, it’s not a trick question. It’s pretty simple actually – it’s flowering. Because that’s what flowers do.

Isn’t it interesting that we have a verb for that?

What would be the equivalent verb to describe what YOU are doing?

Would you look for a “category” word – like human – and say you are humaning?

Would you look for a more specific category and say you are manning, or womanning?

Would you choose a role and say you are mothering, or fathering?

Or something related to your employment? Doctoring? Nursing? Teaching?

What if you went for something really specific? Something that only YOU in the whole universe is doing, has ever done, and ever will do? (That’s being the unique you that you are) What verb would you choose for that?

Would you turn your name into a verb? But that would only work if you don’t share your name with any other person, living or dead.

I don’t think there is a single verb to describe what you, uniquely, are doing – the closest I’d get would be to say I’m becoming me. (Because that’s a constant work in progress)

Let me return to the flower at the start of this post – it’s a “hollyhock”, or “rose trémière” as it’s called around here where I live. But it’s not just any rose, it’s the rose which lives here and which I see, and notice, every day. (A bit like the little prince’s rose)

“People where you live,” the little prince said, “grow five thousand roses in one garden… yet they don’t find what they’re looking for…

They don’t find it,” I answered.

And yet what they’re looking for could be found in a single rose, or a little water…”

Of course,” I answered.

And the little prince added, “But eyes are blind. You have to look with the heart.”