Differences

These are "Four o Clocks". 

They don't get as much attention in my garden spotlight because they're in the back. And because they don't show their petals until the evening,  thus the name four o clock. 

I've been gathering seeds and dropping them in the front gardens,  and we're hoping to seed this whole back bed with them too. 

The beds are a challenge.  With my back it's not easy keeping them weeded and I tend to let nature happen. You won't find a carefully crafted design. Instead you'll find everything just doing what it does. 

I find God is a better gardener than I am.  I've purposefully planted bulbs that never came up, yet flowers bloomed that I didn't plant.  And it was a wonderful surprise.  

Kind of like people.  

Flowers come in different shapes,  sizes,  colors,  shades, scents. They bloom at different times,  different seasons.  Some can tolerate heat, some the cold. 

They're all plant life.  They grow, they bloom, they thrive. Some die, others flourish.  They don't kill each other, they don't complain because one has more sunlight....no, they reach for the sun themselves.  

Not enough water, stretch those roots. 

Need more shade? Grow behind the tall guy over here. 

Despite any and all differences,  we're human. 

We don't pick our eye color, skin color, hair color. We're born with it. It's genetics. We're being ingrained with this ideal that everything should please everyone else.  

No. 

Everyone else needs to learn to be more accepting,  more forgiving of flaws, more open to differences.  

And stop fighting. 

It's not wrong to be a color, it's not wrong to be in a profession,  it's not wrong to have money, it's not wrong to believe in your religion.  

What's wrong is hurting others.  

Especially when you're hurting them because they're different from you. 

Cop, black, white, Jewish, Christian, Muslim, banker, CEO......just titles, just names, just descriptions.  

All human beings. 

All feel the same things, deal with the same challenges,  have the same insecurities.  

We're all flowers in a big ol garden trying to figure out where we grow best and what we need to make that happen.  

Killing, fighting,  putting someone else down.....that doesn't help you grow, it just hinders their growth. 

If that's what you have to do to survive....you're the problem with this world,  not everybody else.  

World peace will never happen, I know that. It's a nice fantasy but we can't do it,  our evil nature will poke it's head out and stir the pot every time.  

But this isn't about the world.  

It's about one person who might read this and try to be better. 

Just one. 

Ripples in a pond. 

We don't just spread the bad, we also spread the good. 

This is me, trying to spread a little good. 

Have a wonderful day,  God bless.