“…It’s when I look at these types of videos, I see how truly beautiful the world is. Nature, music, dance, flowing robes–they touch my soul in unimaginable ways. Then I think of all those that want to change the world by combining all people under one belief system, one race, one tradition… If we were all the same, then every piece of art, clothing, and architecture around the world would be the same. What would inspire us then? What would make our hearts skip a beat, bring tears to our eyes and sappy smiles to our lips? There is beauty in diversity. If only we could all find a way to see it, appreciate it, and accept it…”

Violetta @ Oceangrins

This part of the post reminded me of a conversation I had with a someone last summer at my local Farmer’s Market. In my comment to Violetta’s post,  I said that this is such a beautifully written statement and that I had come to the same conclusion but got there from a different angle. Here’s my winding mind trip. 🙂

Shortly after I bought my home, I got enthusiastic about flowers because I wanted to see something in my yard  that was more interesting to look at than grass. Also my home is a small cottage style bungalow and what’s more fitting for a cottage than flowers and plants. Plants to me are Momma Nature’s paint on a canvas put together as a beautiful painting and Prozac for the soul. So, I read up on what flowers/shrubs grew best in my climate, their requirements etc.  Later I ventured into bird and butterfly watching, also a little bit of herb and vegetable gardening. It is here where my philosophy came together.

As I observed and learned about many different plants, I was awestruck at the awesome beauty and power of nature and that Spirit/God whatever you call it is ever-present in everything.  The diversity within each plant species is mind-boggling as many of the vegetable we eat are related to or in the family of a flower you might see. I believe that the divine plan for how humans are to behave is written in nature.

Let me explain where I’m coming from. Plants grow best in regions where the climate matches their requirements. Some plants have a wider range of places where they will do well while others will only grow in certain places.  Many of the plants that only grow well in certain places of the world have minerals and nutrients that the human body needs to operate at optimum levels.

This is the tool I think that the Divine Creator intended to be used to facilitate cooperation and positive dialog between humans with each other and the Earth. After all, humans are supposed to be the more “intelligent” species.   IMHO, if this were not the intention, then all plants would grow in the all areas of the world year round.  We know this is not true. For example, the tomato, a plant everyone knows about, will not grow in temps below 50 degrees. That’s why in the winter in all but the warmest areas of the globe, the tomatoes you find at your local grocery store have shipped in.

Diversity and cooperation takes place in the natural world, 24/7/365 days a year and has been for hundreds of thousands of years. Some plants especially the ones where we eat the “fruit” need to be pollinated for fruit/flower production.  Reproduction is key as this is where the seeds for the new generation of plants come from the fruit and or flowers . Many depend on insects such as bees and wasps to perform this vital function. Others depend on the wind to do this. Some have both male and female parts and don’t need a third-party. But all depend on the life-giving rays of the Sun and the sustaining nourishment of rain including humans as we are extremely dependent upon those two resources much more than a lot of plants are. The Sun helps our bodies manufacture Vitamin D as no food naturally contains it. The cactus and many succulent plants can go months without water. Humans can not.

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