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Walking along a path close to my home one late afternoon I realized it was much greener than it was a month prior. At first, I couldn’t set apart what was new and what was established. More lush than ever before, the area started to take on a tropical tone with deep chlorophyll colors and more moisture in the air. I noticed the towering dead pine tree trunks, which quite recently had no life on their bare surfaces, were now completely covered in ivy. As if by magic, fingers of vines had tickled their way to the top in their race to capture the most sun.
In the blink of an eye a new forest had begun to emerge.
This discrete shift opened my mind to what it takes to evolve. Life is constantly morphing, expanding, or contracting and the steady plethora of variegation is what holds space for that change. In order for anything to rearrange there must be many different moving parts. When the need to change arises not one thing is out of place and each item contains a vital role in the process. Whether it is to die off or to shimmy over to the left, all bits make their status known in how they interact during change and what their position is from moment to moment. Similar to when a person steps back from a painting, every brush stroke from the palate of colors used reveals the whole picture in a clear and manageable way.
The actions we are taking as the human species on this planet is being shown loud and clear during this large expansion. Each move made individually and ultimately as a group shines a light on the importance of diversification. At times it seems like chaos but in a wider lens the events that are happening are coordinated, adaptable and not out to “get” anyone. It’s often the illusions, delusions, desire to control or mistrust in life itself which obscure the basic principles of change. Change is something bigger than all of that and only asks for one thing: the space to do so.
The vines on the skeletal tree trunks in my neighborhood walk didn’t overtake, they took over just as intended and accepting what is designed to happen has the potential to soften an ego’s desire to keep the scope small.
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Given my background in native plant propagation and the constant “native vs. non-native” discussion my first reaction was to cringe at seeing such headway the hungry vine had made. It’s status in the local area is a clear “PEST” and it has snuffed out many old-growth trees, which is unfortunate. But I had to pause and think back to the time I was greeted with a stubborn bought with parasites (oh yes, they’re in there!) and what strength and deeper knowledge I gained around the microbiome and it’s galaxy of attributes. My body’s mish-mash of all types of cultures and viruses and bacteria rose to the occasion to change the overall environment into one that worked in my favor. Being on the trail that day expanded my awareness deep down into all of the billions of organisms that make me me as well as the collective and the role diversity has on the well being of a community of people.
Complexity in cross-cultural differences is a welcome thing as it offers ways to combat complacency: the more we as a group have to learn and adapt, the stronger we become. According to the Arboriculture and Urban Forestry, “In urban areas, which include mixtures of native and nonnative species, can provide habitat for native insects and increase overall species diversity. In fact, even invasive trees were found to meet and diversify insect habitat needs, particularly as native host trees have disappeared. There is a rich diversity of insects, especially pollinators, such as bees and butterflies, supported in community, botanical, and residential gardens, all of which routinely include introduced plant species.”
There is so much to be learned from our surroundings. The outer always reflects what is inside and the more abundance there is within, the better. I used to be under the misguided thought- perhaps a very Westernized idea- that I am just one sovereign being made up of mini-me’s and a couple of key outside influences. With time, I learned a lot of what I am is a rich stew of information from all kinds of unique people, places and things. These were what I held space for in order to grow and develop and in turn they guided me into who I am right in this moment.
Like the bare tree trunks I had, have, and will continue to have places in me that are blank space created by expansion. With evolution’s call, that space will transform into what it needs to become and with it the everlasting freedom that I am whole no matter what I am made of. Just like the forest, the ocean floor, the potted plant in a windowsill, our gut- all of the trillions of creations in agreement to co-exist are meant to be there.
Diversity is beautiful and one of the most important gifts life contains. By keeping things in a healthy balance of new and familiar, our species can expand and contract with the cosmos.
Evolution is inevitable. I pose the radical notion that perhaps because of that fact, nothing is invasive at all.
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Previously published on Medium.com and is republished here under permission.
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Photo credit: Evelyn Bertrand on Unsplash