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Wayside_Wisdom
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If people were plants, some of us would be cactus and some would be cottonwoods! There are lovely-as-a-lilac people and nasty-as-nettle folk. Occasionally we may hear about a straight-as-a-pine-tree prophet or encounter a crooked-as-a-grapevine con artist. But, by and large, Homo sapiens is more likely to be cactus or cottonwood people. Cactus is sturdy and tall, but stiff and stubborn. It is rigid and armed with needle-like defenses that make every encounter painful. Cactus offers no shade, discourages companionship, and hoards the precious few drops of available moisture! Its occasional flowers are brilliant and beautiful, but untouchable and short-lived. Cactus people, too, are inflexible and always right. Their prickly defensiveness discourages friendship and makes sharing painful. The external beauty and internal resources of cactus people are locked painfully away from others. Sometimes the pain of a cactus encounter outlives the relationship. Not so with cottonwoods. They are sturdy trees which provide generous and welcome shade from the summer sun and shelter from winter storms. And, in the spring, as its seed pods swell and burst, the breezes spread its soft white fluff far and wide. Cottonwood people offer acceptance in a world of scorching judgment. They listen to the howl of the traveler’s winter storms. And their bits of kindness are spread far and wide by the winds of the spirit. Cactus or cottonwood: what kind of a person are you? What kind of a person am I? It makes a world of difference in our lives and in the world around us! mshr - 7/12/06 |