“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” – George Elliot
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A helpful metaphor to think of in accepting the process of change is to imagine you’re helping yourself like you would a sick plant. Now, in truth, what I don’t know about plant medicine and sick plants would fill volumes. Accept this metaphor as hypothetical, and unrelated to the actual procedures for treating sick plants. Now imagine you had a plant that you are fond of, and that plant became sick. At first you might not know it. Then, once you eventually become aware of the problem, you would likely do what most of us do when we first notice a problem, ignore it and hope it goes away. After waiting to see if the problem fades and the plant naturally heals, you come to the conclusion that the problem is not self-correcting.
You might procrastinate for some time. Eventually, assuming you know as little about sick plants as I do, you will resign yourself to seek outside help if you want the plant to revive. The plant doctor (hypothetical) gives you medicine. You pour the medicine onto the ground so that the plant can absorb it into its system.
When you wake up the next morning, is the plant completely better? Unlikely. The medicine first has to seep into the ground. Then the plant has to absorb it through its root system. Then the medicine may take some time to take its effect. Pouring more medicine will not make this happen faster. Yelling at the plant may offer a bit more carbon dioxide for photosynthesis, but otherwise is unlikely to help.
After you pour the medicine, all you can do is wait. Sometimes change takes time. You contribute and do what you can. But in the end, you have to accept the pace of the process or you will only succeed in frustrating yourself, and likely setting back the process.
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“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”
– Albert Einstein
