#17 Money Plant
Bhopal - 17th November 2021
"Tea leaves make great fertilizer" - my roommate, commented, as we sipped steaming hot tea he just brewed.
"I started adding used up tea leaves to this pot and look how tall this plant has gotten" He pointed to the money plant placed on the window sill.
The plant has been climbing the window steadily for some time and now it's about two feet tall. Next to the pot there's a small glass bottle containing water, and one of the stem has been submerged in it, for new roots to grow.
"Plants this big don't usually grow in pots this small."
"Why do you think it's called a money plant?", I asked.
"It's believed that this plant brings good luck and wealth."
"So, has it made you wealthy?", I joked.
"Maybe"
"The wealth doesn't have to be monetary." He added.
"Hmm... I sometime think the superstitions we have, may have mythical roots"
"Oh yes, we can often find logic in some superstitions if we think about it, like, maybe the reason we light diyas in the East, because that's where it gets darker first, as sun sets in the West"
"No, I don't mean that. When I say mythical roots, I mean that we may have something to learn from it. At some point we knew the lessons, but then we lost it. But we kept the practice alive."
Consider this, suppose you read an useful book, which helped you in some way. Then you decided to share it, and the booked helped the people you shared with, and they in turn shared it with someone else. Eventually, it may become a widespread book that helps people if they absorb what is taught in it.
Now think of someone who doesn't know how to read, one may mistakenly think that the book has magical powers and people who possess it suddenly become lucky. And one may also decide to keep the book in possession simply based on the belief that it is lucky. In this case, the practice is alive, but the reasoning is lost. If you ask the person why he has kept the book with him, he'll say he has kept it because it's lucky. He's mimicking the practice without understanding the reason behind it. And you would say that the man is superstitions - books can't be lucky!
"So then, what does the money plant have to teach us?"
"Adaptability", a prompt reply.
"It is extremely resilient, it can grow with or without soil. It will grow new roots if you put it in water. It will survive even if you don't water it too often, it isn't affected by large changes in temperatures.
It will climb anything it can reach, and if it can't find anything to climb on, it will just spread out. If you cut it, it won't die, it will multiply.
It teaches us to adapt to our circumstances and just keep growing, with whatever resources we've got."