The Stubborn Plant

Jack was a precocious toddler, a smart ass teenager and a gifted adult. Gifted in the art of marketing. And if it were not for his stubborn streak he would have done well for himself. So it came as a surprise to Jack that his employer had to let him go just so the company could move forward.

They had given Jack plenty of opportunity to adapt, to see their reason, to come around. But, alas, Jack’s stubbornness won the day.

So Jack finds himself in the unemployment line and thinking of what to do next. He had already exhausted all avenues of employment in the marketing field with his dramatic outburst at each and every interview he had in that field. Somehow they were not impressed with his story about how he was right and they were wrong. Especially since his prior employer was doing quite well since he had been canned.

Slowly Jack had to accept that he was wrong. It was a humbling and troubling experience for Jack. A first for him really. He sat in his armchair at home thinking about the words the employment agency had given him. Start a new career. Learn something new. Take a course. Take the time the unemployment cheques gave him to set himself on a new path. But Jack stubbornly thought, “But I love my job. I love what I do. I’m good at it!” Round and round he went in his thoughts as his stubborn self argued with himself. “But you screwed it up Jack. No one wants to hire you for that. You can’t get a job doing that. And apparently you weren’t good enough since the company is doing much better without you.” The words smarted. But he could not argue with them. Well, he could argue. But it was not a winning argument. And since Jack loved to win he finally conceded that he had a gift but that marketing was not the only outlet to apply his gift to. If only he knew where he could apply it to? If only he knew what his gift was?

So Jack got up the next day ready to learn something new. Ready to apply himself to a new adventure to discover where he can use his gift. He decided the best way to narrow down his search was to see what everyone in the jobs section of the newspaper was looking for. His quick analysis told him, overwhelmingly, that gardeners were all the new rage. Everyone wanted them. There was big money in it if you could get the right clients and show the right skills. So that was what Jack decided to do. He was going to learn to be a gardener. But that wasn’t good enough for Jack and his winning attitude. He needed to be the best at it. He set himself some lofty goals. Pictured immaculate gardens with rare and exotic plants. Architectural masterpieces that were gardens of exquisite design. Beautiful to look at. Uplifting to experience. A smorgasboard for the senses. Yes, Jack pumped himself up for this new experience and went down to the local garden center and applied as a lowly helper.

Things went wrong almost instantly. That smorgasboard of the senses turned out to be dirt and dust. Muck and blood. Sweat and an achiness in his body that would not go away. His supervisor was nice enough, patient enough. Even with Jack’s stubbornness. But even she lost patience and had to walk away several times rather than listen to Jack explain how they should be doing it. Even after she had told him how to do it in simple terms even a toddler would understand. At the end of the day she gave him a small plant. “Here, take this home and look after it. If you can keep this plant alive for a week, come back and we can start again.” Then she dismissed him. Jack looked at the plant. It was a beautiful green color. It looked vibrant and healthy. She didn’t stick him with a sick plant to set him up with failure from the beginning, although Jack felt he could have really shone by bringing a sick plant back to life.

“I’ll show her!” Jack thought. I’ll make this plant grow as big as ever. So Jack brought the plant home. He set it up on his work bench in his otherwise dark garage. He gave it some light from a table lamp. He gave it a dish to stand in with water. He dumped some fertilizer on it. Then he thought that's that. All he needed to do now was to wait and watch and tomorrow do the same thing.

But the next day Jack was alarmed to find the plant has wilted. It’s leaves turned yellow. A fuzzy layer had formed over the soil in the pot. The water had turned a sickly yellow color too. Jack was in a panic. How could things have gone so wrong? What did he do wrong? Perhaps he had over watered? So Jack did his best to clean the fuzz off the little plant. He drained the water. Brought another table lamp to shine from the other side of the bench. Instead of watering he sprayed the plant with a mist.

The next day, Jack was horrified to find the soil had turned dry and crumbly. The plant and gotten some of it’s green color back but dry brown edges were forming on the edges of the leaves. “Geez!” he muttered to the plant. “Why are you being so sensitive?” He put back the water dish with only a thin layer of water in the bottom. Moved the lights further back from the plant.

In the morning he was pleased to see the plant was recovering. He beamed at the plant. “Now that’s what I am talking about.” He carefully wiped the leaves with a damp cloth and they began to shine. Almost back to the same color when he had brought the plant home. But it was still nowhere near to it’s prior brilliance. 

Jack sat in his arm chair and thought about what makes plants grow. Besides giving them the right mix of environmental conditions and food and water, what makes them flourish? Despite his previous impression about plants, that they were basically organic machines of the simplest kind, he realised that there was something else going on there. Something unexplainable. Something magical? But what?

In the morning, the plant was wilting again. Jack realised he forgot to water it again. He casually poured some water into the dish and then left for the day. Outside he walked around his neighborhood. He admired the plants in his neighbors gardens. The plants along the walking paths. Amazed at how these plants grew so healthy and strong despite very little care by people. What gives? Why couldn’t Jack provide what this plant needed. Why was it being so stubborn?

Jack smiled inwardly at that thought. For the first time Jack thought of the plant as something living with a personality. And for this particular plant at least, he had a connection to this plant. At that moment it become his plant. There were now two beings living in his home.

When Jack came home he sat in front of the plant and stared at it. What he saw did not equate to how he felt about this plant now. It was the same wilted sickly plant. But Jack felt a loneliness in this plant. For the first time he sensed how closed off it was on his bench. It had no friends, it couldn’t see anything. There was nothing else around for it to be a part of.

Jack picked up the plant. He placed it near the front window right by his arm chair. There he sat in his chair where he typically contemplates life. He stares at the plant. He converses with the plant. He strokes its leaves. He makes sure the soil is damp. He looks out the window to see all the other plants outside. He feels the plant is happy now.

The next day, the plant is visibly doing well. It has not recovered from the damage his neglect brought to it. But it has not changed in such a way to cause Jack panic as it has in the past few days. His week was almost up. The plant was nowhere near his vision he had set out for it. In fact, some leaves had fallen off. But what gave Jack satisfaction were the new buds forming on the stalk. And the stalk had almost imperceptibly grown a millimeter taller.

Rejoicing, Jack took a picture of the plant and went down to the local garden center. He showed the picture to his supervisor. She scowled at it. “It looks like it has been through hell Jack.” He looks down ashamed at the truth. She looks at him carefully. “But I can see the plant has done some remarkable work in you. Welcome back to the garden center.” Jack is pleased but puzzled at her words. “What do you mean?”  She only smiles at him mischievously and hands him a pair of gardening gloves. 

Jack never did accomplish his goal to be the master gardner he set out to be. Instead the same magic that made the plants grow also grew something in Jack. Jack was perfectly happy to work at the garden center amongst the plants and the new friends he seemed to be making everyday.