Patience

Ten years ago, a neighbor that we used to live in our building passed away, she was a very kind lady, we were not friends with her kids but she used to have this motherly attitude towards all the kids. and all the other neighbors used to love her as well (god bless her soul).
She gave my mother a small cactus plant. Since then my mother takes care of it. But the strange thing is, this plant didn’t grow, I know that cactus takes time to grow but it hasn’t changed a bit. still small and is not noticeable compared to the basil that my mom is planting in the balcony. The contrast is high… basil with the beautiful smell, wonderful texture to touch, beautiful green color and this small cactus that looks rough, hurts if touched and has this fading green color. I used to have the feeling that it’s not alive although it didn’t look as it’s dying.
Anyways, my mom never gave up on ever taking care of it. And I discovered that she really loves it… why not, we normally don’t love things because of its beauty or perfection, it’s the meaning or the feeling that we have. Love has a mechanism if I can say that, it’s the object’s significance to us that is absorbed by the heart and reflected back again to the object.
What made me discover that my mom loves this plant is: yesterday when I returned home from work. I found her telling me with a real pleasure that there were small leaves developed from the cactus, I went and had a look and it was true … it’s finally growing. I was happy too …more of the lesson that I have learned.
She loved the plant, just the way it was. She didn’t get bored of taking good care of it while she knew if won’t change. Waiting for ten years didn’t affect or minimize the happiness she felt when it grew. And finally, she wasn’t happy because it will turn to a better plant that decorates the balcony, it was a sign that the plant is alive and isn’t dying.