The Tenacity of Life

The grassy weed that refused not to be!

I first noticed it late this spring:   A tiny sprig of grass growing from one of 15 bags of garden soil piled up in the backyard, all destined to be spread out at the base of the English privets lining the northeast side of our lot.

Although the bags containing that soil are made of sturdy plastic, one of them somehow incurred a small cut somewhere along its voyage from initial packaging to the time that I plopped them all out back last fall.

 

That’s all that Mother Nature needed:  a tiny opening in a bag full of rich garden soil, and she promptly went to work, taking advantage of the opportunity afforded her.

At first glance, this event may appear to be non-descript and unworthy of further attention, but that singular act of birth and growth – a sole blade of grass bursting out of its confined space represents the powerful force of life.

It is a singular example of the unknowable:  the seminal force behind universal creation; its continually magnificent expansion; and the myriad forces at play in this phenomenon for which science, philosophy, and theology have barely scratched the surface.

Given what we humans – the brightest as well as the dullest among us – barely comprehend about the nature of our being, it strikes me to reflect upon the tenacity of that one blade of grass, and of what its persistence in spreading its roots while aiming for the sun may be telling us:

Could it be the backstage presence of a unique, existential force that has prompted the expanding universe, all of its matter, life, and scientific principles into motion?

Thanks for reading, and enjoy this great birthday of the United States of America.

(Click on the photo for an enhanced view.)