The Sword Flower
A Spiritual Connection that Blossoms
A few days ago, I did something I've always dreamed of—but never quite felt confident enough to do until now. I planted a Gladiolus, and since it is the first flower I dug in God's soil, I am only right to share it with you. When I bought the flower, I did not know the extent of where it came from or where it got its name. I later learned that the Gladiolus was named after the Latin word Gladius, meaning strength, and this strength symbolizes the very essence of who we are as one of God's living organisms. Planting this flower seemed to be a simple act, and as basic as it looks, it taught me a profound lesson that is universal to how everything flows. Since walking down this road to green thumb mastery, God periodically sits me in the front row of his classroom to explain how interconnected I am to these plants. Through the simple act of planting, he shows me how the entire production of the universe is predicated on the proper positioning, the consistent rhythm of nourishment, and the necessary conditioning needed to thrive. At its heart, that is what gardening is: understanding what a living thing needs to thrive and working to create those conditions.
What Are the Conditions for You to Thrive?
Many of the flowers we admire are native to soils and climates completely different from our own, yet with the proper care and attention to detail, we can create the space the plant needs to bloom. This requires a special intention, as my Aunty Tasha explains, "growing plants require us to 'mimic God' thereby imitating the environment his plants are akin to so they can flourish anywhere. This is profound to me because just like a plant, we all need certain conditions to thrive, and if those conditions are not met, we will rotate around the Sun every 365 days bearing little to know blooms or fruit. Meditate on this: Whenever you are in an undesired space or mood, what is the fertilizer, water, and nutrition that you lean into to thrive?
The Conditions I Thrive Under
When I am met with the proposition to deal with an uncomfortable situation or place, I approach the task from a place of mindful meditation. This meditation allows me to breathe and focus my attention on a higher order of progress to fight through the weeds and darkness of the soil I am rooted in. This attention takes my core to a space of unfiltered love. As cliché as it sounds, love conquers all things, and the power invested in it will guide a light to the hidden answer of figuring out how to be in the right condition to thrive when all around us seems to be falling apart. This phenomenon reminds me of the first plant I sowed into the ground: The Gladiolus, a.k.a "The Sword Flower".