I scattered wild lupine seeds across the mountainside near my home two years ago. A haphazard action, I’ll admit, and I didn’t expect much. The landscape was harsh, brown, and overrun with weeds, save for the area where a bulldozer had cleared a path.
But I thought, Why not give it a go?
Those little Lupine plants emerged in the first year, but they looked fragile and worn. To be honest, I wasn’t sure they’d make it. But I left them be. I didn’t interfere, didn’t coddle. I just watched as nature did its thing.
Hiking up the mountain yesterday, I was greeted by a spectacle of Lupines in radiant bloom. Mature clusters adorned the landscape, their violet hues punctuating the monotonous brown, a veritable cascade of color.
They’d even spread to places I hadn’t sowed, maybe carried there by the wind or wandering critters. Who knows?
The once vacant mountainside was now a canvas of bluish-purple, a testament to the resilience of nature itself. Just as with wisteria in the garden, gracefully aging yet refusing to yield, this meadow of lupines serves as a reminder of survival and the triumph of patience.
We all face our share of rocky soil and barren landscapes. Times when we feel small, fragile like we’ve been scattered haphazardly. It’s during these times when it’s easy to forget our potential. To underestimate our ability to bloom in unexpected places.
When you’re going through a tough time, remember the Wild Lupines.
Embrace the waiting, the uncertainty.
There will be times when you may feel alone, stranded in inhospitable environments, your optimism as ragged as the weak sprouts of the first-year Lupines.
Sometimes, the best thing you can do is wait it out.
It might seem like you’re alone, left to face the harsh elements. But, like wild lupine, time might show you something different. As the days pass, you grow. You gather strength you didn’t know you had. With each passing moment, you will find your roots burrowing deeper, extracting nourishment from the most unlikely places.
And before you know it, you’re blooming, adding color and beauty to even the most challenging terrain.
These springtime moments, these small victories, keep us grounded, reminding us of our ability to thrive in adversity.
Hold onto these good feelings, let them nurture you, and keep on going.
