Nature Finds a Way

This Flower Grew where the Base of
Building Meets the  Sidewalk

Examples of nature finding a way, like this flower, always affirm for me that there is a strong will in living things to survive and succeed in life.

Sometimes, as humans, we forget that we have this strong survival instinct ourselves.

However, just a quick recollection of your own history will remind you that even in the worst of times, you managed to get up, find food, and make it through the day. Yes, you may not have wanted to, but as a living thing you were programmed for survival and you have incredible inner strength.

From early childhood, every time I saw something green  growing up through the cracks of a sidewalk, I felt hope. I realized that as much as man built over nature, nature was going to find its way to live. And if nature could find its way in the unfriendly environment that was cement, I could surely survive in a harsh world myself. 


This flower is an amazing symbol of hope. It not only grew from an impossible location, where a crack at the base of a building meets the sidewalk, but even more incredible...the hundreds of people walking by it every day allowed it to grow and thrive. 

There is much good in this harsh world.

Trees Growing in Impossible Places




The Tree Outside My Window

  After yesterday's blog post, I kept thinking of the last line..."trees growing in impossible places."

New York City is full of them. Trees growing in small squares of ground amidst cement and tall buildings.

Actually, almost every living thing in the City seems to be growing in an impossible space. From the hawks building their nests on tall Upper West Side buildings, to the parrots who set up a colony in Brooklyn, and the pine tree I saw today that had broken through cement at the bottom step to a basement and was winding its way up toward the sun.

It's the same for people. Our most pronounced growth seems to happen in impossible places during seemingly impossible times. I think because in those times we have little choice. When we feel trapped and forsaken, if we're lucky, some spark inside of us says, "I'm breaking out. I deserve better than this. I'm going to thrive and reach the sun."

As I look out my back window, I see the tree pictured. Several years ago, I watched it sprout from the ground one spring. Cement and tall buildings surround it. No one took care it. It pushed upward on its own reaching for the sun.

Now, this lovely tree is tall enough to shade my 4th story windows during the hot summer. It provides perches and food for the little birds that like to look in my window. This tree has improved my world in indescribable ways...most importantly as a symbol of persistence, endurance, and hope.

What are your symbols for hope?