Setting Roots

Reading this story about growing dates from 2000 year old seeds, reminded me of a packet of peony seeds my friend A gave me more than two decades ago. I carried them with me through my life's many upheavals and they sit in a drawer in my office now. Never thought to plant them because that was responsibility I did not want to take - caring for plants and pets was well beyond my capacity back then and probably still. 

After the first decade, that packet of seeds came to acquire symbolic significance. I would plant them when I knew the home I was in was my last and final stop - there would be no further changes in my life that needed me to uproot and move. In my heart, I wanted to join the ranks for people who are lucky to live in the same town, the same house for generations though that would never happen to me. That is the kind of unshakable stability I craved for but it remains out of reach even today. 

Ofcourse, those who have such unrelentingly secure lives often crave to break free from the sameness and explore the world. Maybe nature creates balance over time by shuffling the deck so we call get to experience how the other side lives. For now, my peony seeds sit in the drawer waiting for their time.