Here’s a small corner of our potager. I took the photo because the beauty of the abundant diversity caught my eye.
When I look at it now I realise that different people will see different things when they look at this.
Some might see competition – survival of the fittest – as each plant fights all the others for the most sun, the most water, the best nutrients from the soil. When the world looks like that its full of fighting, of winners and losers, of the pursuit of self-interest. In such a world is there ultimately one winner? One species of plant which beats all the rest and eliminates them from the competition?
Some might see chaos – unruly, disorder, no control. Does such a world need to be tamed? Does it need to be ruled, ordered and managed to produce….to produce “outcomes” – and what will those outcomes be? Who determines them? Who measures? Who manages? Who controls?
Some might see beauty and diversity – as I do – each plant expressing its uniqueness to the full, flourishing amongst the others. When the world looks like this, it looks like a community. It looks like a living, growing, healthy being. Gaia. Nature.
I see uniqueness here.
I see flourishing here.
I see community here.
I see beauty here.
What do you see?
Heroes Not Zombies 
The Danish mystic and philosopher, Martinus, did say that flowers and other beautiful plants in nature were made by the Divine to remind us of the beauty of our home on the Other Side.
Yes, viewed as biological organisms solely they can be seen just as ‘things’, whose sole function is to growing and competing for space and sunlight and water. But they were also made, according to Martinus, as said reminder to us from the Creator: To evoke such a memory in us that ‘there is more’ in life and that this ‘more’ is beautiful.
I find it an intriguing thought, and I have enough of a spiritual gene in me, so to speak, to take it seriously. However, personally I don’t think it makes much difference whether it is true or not. The importance is what we FEEL when we take our time to just … see the flowers, instead of passing them by. It is not without cause that beautiful flowers and other plants have been cultivated in the gardens of many hospitals, I think.
We may be moved, almost by default, by the beauty of nature. But ultimately, as you indicate: We decide if we want to open fully to that impulse to appreciate the beautiful – or – dismiss it and see something else.
Thanks for posting this!
Diversity, variety – both in shape and color! 🙂