Balance

This morning my son asked why some plants, like trees, are so tall while other plants are so small. I explained to him nature’s balance and related it to the Three Sisters Gardening that I do. How both the popcorn and pumpkins consume nitrogen from the ground while beans put it back in. How the beans also climb up the corn plant to reach the sun. The pumpkin vines and leaves will shade the ground which both retains moisture and shades out the weeds. It is a technique long used by Native Americas long before my ancestors arrived on this continent.

Similarly, God designed nature to be equally balanced. The trees grow tall to get more sunlight while their roots grow deep to bring nutrients, that water as carried deep into the soil, back to the surface. When those trees drop their leaves, those nutrients are added back to the soil. Then grasses and other annual plants are then able to use those nutrients to support their growths. Animals consume plant materials and act to add nutrients back to the soil. It is a carefully designed balance that creates a system that is constantly in motion.

As I reflect on the challenges, we all face today may it be our relationships or those within our communities and world it occurs to me that we must reflect on how nature works. Focusing on a single point of few we will only lead to unbalanced outcomes. Focusing only on what is “good” for the one or a few also leads to unbalanced outcomes. Only by working together both within our relationships or within our society can we every hope to have balance. This may, at times, mean our lives are inconvenienced, it may also mean at times we have to give something up. However, the rewards for mutually working together with an equal given and take will be profound!

It is all about balance!