Regenerating Yourself In Spite of Life’s Difficulties

Every Spring, our desert cacti bloom. One cactus in particular that blooms and blows me away when it does is the tall and stately Saguaro. What’s so special about that, you ask? Well, we’re in the midst of a protracted drought.

Monsoons bring us our much-needed water. Three years ago when I moved to SE Arizona, I personally experienced a powerful and somewhat dreadful monsoon. I’ve never seen lightening come crashing down like that before. Thunder boomed so loud you’d think your roof was caving in. And rain, wow. A huge downpour that brings so much water that, on occasion and if a person is not careful, it can sweep them and their car away. Drownings are frequent.

So three years ago I was told, “That’s the first monsoon of many.” Wrong. That was the one and only monsoon that year. The next year, none. The year after, none. Drought. Drought. Drought.

The tall and stately Saguaros, however, have managed to survive. They look shriveled, tired, haggard, but they stand tall and strong. AND, THEY BLOOM. In the midst of a severe drought, THEY BLOOM.

How do they do it? There’s a simple lesson in all this for us as we learn from our environment. The Saguaro is not like us humans who, when hardship occurs, constantly rehearse all the bad things in us that we suspect caused it, or the bad things that have come of it. Saguaros don’t second-guess themselves or get down on themselves as if they caused the drought. They don’t think God is punishing them with lack of water the way we, humans, would do. Rather, they take the energy they have AND BLOOM. They stand tall and put their energy into surviving and growing.

When I pass by the Saguaros on my morning walk with my dog, I hear a deep, stately, and powerful, “YyyyyyyyyEeeeeeeSssssssss.” It’s their affirmation that no matter what the weather brings, they are here to thrive. How about you, friend? Time to focus on a positive affirmation though things are a bit tough right now?Blessings.