My Symbols of Hardiness
When I teach about hardiness the first question I ask is “What do you think of when you hear the word ‘hardy’?” Answers have included soup, trees, pioneers, my grandmother, and of course, Santa Claus!
Initially I thought of pansies because they can be planted in the fall and rise triumphantly after enduring the winter storms. I even titled my talk on hardiness, “How to Become a Pansy.” This always started a lively conversation! I then learned that while pansies do well in cool weather, they wilt in heat, and so I moved on to finding other things and people that remind me of this ability to endure well.
Here are a few of my symbols of hardiness:
An old wooden bowl. I grew up in Montana where my mother would drag us through antique stores. I didn’t understand it at the time, but there is something inspiring to see how 100-year-old everyday items can continue to be of service. With our modern “gather and discard” mentality, how did this beautiful, hand carved, wood bowl endure? Looking closely, it has aged beautifully with scratches and dings adding to its character. It teaches me that becoming hardy is not staying in a showcase, shiny and new. Rather, it’s a life where we are used daily and encounter falls, and sharp edges. The resulting dents and scars become part of our endurance story.
Hollyhocks. You can’t be a gardener in a high mountain valley without learning about hardy plants and trees. A short growing season, deep winter snow, continual freezing temperatures, and daily wind, along with hungry elk, deer, and porcupines, test the survival of everything.
Each spring as I walk around my yard, I consciously express joy that I, along with my plants, bushes, and trees survived another winter.
Perennials are my hardy treasures. Unlike annual plants that die in the winter season, perennials only have to be planted once, and they naturally spring up each year. While hollyhocks are technically biennial (meaning they only bloom every other year), in my garden I let them drop their seeds and new plants come up every year, appearing to be perennial. Perennials remind me that winters of our lives are natural, time for rest and renewal, before re-emerging even more beautiful in the spring.
Corrie Ten Boom. I’ve written before about Corrie, who survived living in the Nazi war camps. Her book, The Hiding Place, is filled with poignant stories of her commitment to God, how she finds the smallest of ways to control her environment, and her acceptance of the challenge to endure well.
I am also in awe of her ability to forgive. Sometime after the war, Corrie was speaking at a church when she saw one of the guards from the war camp where she had survived, and her sister died. Her memories were flooded with the pain this man had inflicted. He asked to shake her hand and then her forgiveness for all that he had done before changing his life. Can you imagine that moment? That decision? Could there be such a test of hardiness?
With a prayer to God and great courage, she shook his hand and felt a wave of forgiveness. Corrie writes, “When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself.” God gave Corrie the strength to forgive and love thisman when she could not. We don’t have to do hardiness alone.
Quotes and Poems. From an early age, I’ve been a collector of quotes and poems. They are both a symbol of hardiness and a source of encouragement. My favorites are those that are timeless and express succinct truth. Reading each one gives me a subtle boost, like taking daily vitamins. They also randomly come to mind for just-in-time guidance or assurance.
The quote currently on repeat in my mind is from Kurt Vonnegut, “I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, ‘If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.’” (I hope you’re having one of those moments right now.)
Symbols as Reminders
I realize, as I write this blog, that symbols are important in our lives, especially those we can observe regularly. They quickly transmit a message from our eyes to our mind to our heart. They can instantly remind us of what we want most.
Looking for symbols that represent hardiness strengthens our intention of becoming hardy and gaining the skills to do so. Maybe, I’ll look for more. How about you?