9 Dec 25 - My Lettuce Built the Twin Towers

My Lettuce Built the Twin Towers

I bought lettuce from the morning street market in Johor a few weeks back. Fresh, luscious leaves, still clinging to roots and soil. On a whim, I decided to plant the lower part - really just for fun and curious if it'd grow.

Here's the thing: I don't have green fingers. I often joke that even plastic plants wilt under my care. But I planted it anyway. No expectations. Just curiosity. - much like a kid.

Then it grew. And grew. 😝

It stretched tall and thin, reaching upward in ways I hadn't anticipated. One morning, I laughed - it had branched into two shoots at the top. "Twin towers!" I said. My little lettuce, reaching skyward like the iconic towers of Malaysia. 🤣

Then one morning, I walked out and stopped. Yellow buds. Tiny lettuce flowers I'd never seen before.

I stood there, amazed. Humbled.

Mindfulness teaches us to let go of outcomes and be present to what unfolds. I planted that lettuce with zero confidence. But I let go of my story about being hopeless with plants just enough to try. And life surprised me.

Nature thrives when we stop trying to control it. I didn't fuss. Didn't hover. Just gave it soil, water, sunlight - and let it be. It grew its own way. Tall and thin, branching like towers, flowering unexpectedly. Perfect in its own becoming.

Beauty appears where we least expect it, especially when we're not demanding it. I wasn't trying to grow a showpiece. Just experimenting with a leftover vegetable. But that's when magic happens - when we're open, curious, not attached to results.

This morning, looking at those yellow buds, I felt such gratitude. Not because I'm suddenly a master gardener. But because this scrappy lettuce reminded me that growth happens when we get out of our own way.

Sometimes the things we think we can't do just need us to try - and then let go.

May you discover the joy of watching something unfold in its own time, in its own way. Even if you haven't planted the seed yet.

#Mindfulness #Nature #LettingGo #Surprises #Growth #SimpleJoys

🌷 from Linda's humble desk @ Tulip Meadows 🌷