Grow where you are planted … why???
“Grow where you are planted.”
This was a sign I saw this morning driving down the road and to me it is a very depressing message. Perhaps I am not seeing it as it was intended, but my immediate reaction was one of distaste. To me, it says: “be content with what you have and just deal with it.”
While there is some value in learning to accept certain things and not drive your life by what you can never achieve, that message is too complacent. It tells you to just accept whatever your situation is. A much better statement would have been:
“Find where you can grow!”
Finding a place to grow implies personal responsibility and a call for action. It tells the reader to do something with their life; take an active role in defining your situation. I would never want to simply sit there and react to life as it passes by me. I would much rather interact with it and drive myself to the things I enjoy and love.
To simply “grow where you are planted” can mean forever being stuck in an environment unsuited to who you are and who you want to be. A mighty oak would not survive well on the tundra. The harsh conditions there would strip it of life. Move it to a lush valley and it will thrive. However, plant some tundra grasses and flowers in that same valley and they would be starved out by all the taller plants.
It is important to know and understand yourself and if you are not in an environment suited to who you are or want to be, take action, get up, and find a place to grow! Don’t just sit by and hope something better will come along. It’s your life, be the leading character in it.
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While I don't disagree that you should look to move on to an environment better suited to enriching you and letting you thrive and grow, I had always thought the saying of grow where you are planted along the lines of - don't let your surroundings dictate who you are, but instead, use that ground and make it a better place by utilizing your gifts, talents, thoughts, and such and improve yourself while you are in that place for that period of time.
Hi Karen,It may indeed have that meaning, which would make the statement less of an issue to me. However, I read it as intending one to remain where they are forever, since plants themselves don't tend to move (though their offspring can).
I definitely agree with doing what you can to improve the environment you are in. Though I also see kids tied into toxic relationships with people who are not really their friends and would recommend they seek others with whom they can build a mutual relationship of trust and friendship. Don't give up too early and avoid everything difficult, that is a problem as well, but don't remain when it is a lost cause.
Very good comment, thank you,
Thaddeus (Ted)
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