- adapted from Douglas Adams
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(or catharsis from the past)
and back into history...
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Abscission revisited · 6 July 05
A strength, perhaps.
To do it, or not to do it…
Not a question, just when.
To be ruthless… harsh…
The hurt would be less,
and perhaps the harm.
To linger…
Half say, half think;
makes memories less sweet,
if it leaves memories at all.
Are there any guarantees?
I wish I knew…
———————————————————
To me, this word represents the hardest thing that we ever try to do. I remember when I first heard the word, I think in a High School biology class:
ab·scis·sion The act of cutting off or away; Botany. The shedding of leaves, flowers, or fruits following the formation of the abscission zone.
Something about this word drew me. Every year trees do this. Cut off a part of them so that the greater part will live for another year. For many more years. It is an essential part of their survival, guaranteeing their longevity. In order to survive, they sacrifice something into which they have put a huge amount of energy, effort and time.
I wish I knew…”
Let me tell you, in my experience, the only guarantee is that once born we will die. Even the guarantee on your washing machine and fridge tend to be worthless once you need them.
Like a sand sculpture on a beach or the position of the Moon in the night sky, the great cycle continues to turn. Over time, the position of the grain of sand on the beach, or the Moon in the sky will change. Life experience is a bit like this normally.
We often need to confront the same, or slightly different situation(s), several times before we learn the lesson it has to offer us.
Abscission in the plant kingdom happens for a number of reasons. You mention ripe fruit ready to fall. Autumn leaves. Plants often use the same process to protect themselves by shedding a dead branch or limb due to water shortage or distress. This is the same as life experiences, which are more traumatic, where we get a jolt, a slap, a pain, a hurt. Short, sharp but not always quick.
So are there any guarantees? YES! With the pain comes the gain, with the fruit falling comes the seed of regeneration. It is this that is the Human Condition. To experience these things is to be alive. Like seeing the Sun or the Moon rising or setting, or the flavour and taste of good food and not hunger, or the sound of friends laughing.
Without the pain how would we know the joy of happiness?
Be like the tree and conserve your resources when needs must, to grow bigger, extend your roots deeper and wider the next season. I feel certain you’ll learn the lessons quicker then most will, or do, I include myself in that statement.
— HiPhi Jul 7, 04:45 #