Verbena Bee

The polar vortex has arrived in Maine but today’s activity of planting succulents has transported the ladies gathering for Winter Wellness to the desert. We begin arranging small pebbles for drainage in our little pots. We laugh as many pebbles fall out the drainage hole but we persist. We add soil. There’s focus and tenderness as each person shifts the baby plants into their new home. The lifelong gardeners are showing muscle memory. Others have forgotten temporarily and approach the project with a freshness that inspires me. If ever there were a group to teach resilience, spending time with the residents of my local dementia memory care community is like witnessing resilience in action.

In a world obsessed with speed, technology and chasing the next great thing, I’ve often felt like an outsider. Early on I chose a different path from many of my peers. A quieter path that’s allowed me more time in nature than inside an office. However, as I write this today, I realize all our paths converge when we reach a certain age. Regardless of our career. For all the strivers out there, myself included, I’m familiar with the comfort of believing if we just follow a series of steps we’ll somehow have a life that matches all our efforts. And then something unexpected happens. Perhaps there’s a health crisis or accident or a loss. Something we cannot control. Now what?

I believe it’s in the messy part of what now, that things really start getting interesting. There’s no road map but a lifetime of experience that’s developed our inner compass to guide us home. Even when we no longer remember our left from our right.