My Christmas Grow-Op

Well I might as well add my voice to the mix and say that 2020 was one brutal year. Besides my own life being disrupted by this pandemic, so many others around me are struggling.
There’s been so much death.
So much sickness.
So much struggle.
It’s been hard to know where to look for hope.

Then it occurred to me.
So I bought a grow-op. And no, despite several very good friends trying to convince me that smoking pot would be a good thing for me to do, as of yet I have managed to take a pass.
So though I do have a grow op, I have not been growing marijuana. Instead, I planted cherry tomatoes. And over time I watched them grow. As you can see from the picture below, it started with tiny little sprouts of greenery. And then it grew and grew.

While I heard stories of sickness and death during this pandemic, I was watching new life grow right in front of me.
The whole thing reminded me that life is very much a polarity. In some cases I see a new life growing and it gives me hope. And at the same time, all around me it seems, there is pain and suffering. One of my former colleagues, who I liked very much, died of Covid this year. A dear friend of mine right now has Covid and is working through it. Another wonderful friend has recently been diagnosed with cancer. Erinn regularly tells me stories of how difficult Covid is on the folks that she knows in her community in Parkdale that are homeless or precariously housed. And I have had a few tough health days myself along the way.
Life is very difficult.
And yet, even though Christmas was unbelievably different for everyone this year, as a family we had a sweet, quiet time together which I enjoyed very much. I experienced peace and joy in the midst of so much pain and suffering.
Again, I guess that’s what life is.
Pain
Joy
Suffering
Peace
All wrapped up together and experienced at the same time.

My grow-op ultimately produced some cherry tomatoes. When I bit into them and the tomatoes exploded inside my mouth, I experienced for a brief moment, new life, new hope, new peace.

During this Christmas season, I guess my hope is that one day there will be no more pain and suffering. That life will be entirely about the feeling of biting into that fresh cherry tomato.

In the meantime, as a new year is almost upon us, I guess it’s time to plant some new stuff and live in expectation, in hope, of biting into that new life.

1 thought on “My Christmas Grow-Op”

  1. As I look at your beautiful plants growing, it reminds me that nothing can grow if you do not have light.
    Jesus, the light of the world, meet with me today and everyday. May I grow each day to become more like you. With you, all things are possible.

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