The Perseverance of the Rose: Finding Hope In Your Backyard

One of the many lessons to come out of 2020 is that even the most careful planning cannot prepare us for every eventuality. One of the many devastations of the Covid-19 pandemic has been to bring the travel industry to a screeching halt while simultaneously increasing our stress level so that we all need a nice long vacation. So how do you relieve that stress when travel is not an option?  You can start by taking a moment to appreciate the beauty of nature in your own back yard.  

I’ve never had much of a green thumb, but I have one rosebush in my yard that never dies, despite the many times when I have thought it was a goner.  It is right outside my bedroom window so when I open my blinds in the mornings, I see it.  When it looks peaked like it is going to die, I feel sad, but seeing even one bloom on it gives me hope. 

This past year, after a hurricane that took out almost all of our big trees, I thought my rose bush was not going to survive after the roots were run over by the guys I hired to remove one of the big trees.  Months went by and other flowers and  blooms that usually come out in the Spring time began to bloom but not my rose bush. Such a small thing, but after losing so many trees that had been in my yard for years, the thought of losing my rosebush was just too much.  Determined not to let it go without a fight, I went out and pruned it – gave it a little agricultural first aid. All I did was remove one dead-looking branch and the very next day, I noticed a few small blooms.  A few days after that, the bush took off and produced more blooms than I’ve ever seen on it.  Now when I look out my window, it puts a smile on my face and gives me the boost I need to start my day off right.

It is these simple things that can make a huge difference in our lives.  If a rosebush can come back to life just by removing a dead branch, then we too can come back stronger than ever when we let go of the stress that is holding us down. Under normal circumstances, a vacation is great way to let go and recharge, but when that isn’t possible, we have to find other ways. Sometimes, it’s as simple as walking into our own backyard and finding that one rose that just refuses to give up.