I live a fairly simple life, sometimes to the dismay of my wife and family. I get to spend more time in secluded nature than any one person should be allowed and for that I’m grateful.
The other day while working in a new area I came across this cabbage palm and for the first time felt that nature was actually showing me the spirit and resolve of life and I wanted to share it with my OSR visitors.
At first sight this cabbage palm instantly reminded me of my friend John Wurm who had a stroke almost 2-years to the day. Maggy, John’s wife has been at his side endlessly and writes:
On March 1, 2007, John experienced a hemorrhagic stroke (brain bleed) . Very few people survive this type of insult to the brain. We were told that John would not survive. He did. We were told that he would never wake up from a coma. He did. The doctors also told us that he would never move again. John has regained use of the right side of his body and is stronger than most people I know. The left side, though still very weak, is slowly waking up and getting stronger. These doctors never had the privilege of knowing John before this happened. If they had, they would know they weren’t dealing with an average guy. His strong will and courage have gotten him this far and apparently he is not finished. He’s fighting every day and showing no signs of giving up. That’s just not something he does.
When I first met John he was digging out a large tree stump by hand for an elderly neighbor who lost her tree in a hurricane. He was fighting the stump with every inch of resolve he had and like the cabbage palm his spirit to survive is inspiring.
Maggy’s specialty is a giving heart and the best iced coffee that you have ever tasted. She will give me a big hug and then ask me how my blood pressure is, letting me know that there are just a few degrees of separation from fine.
This cabbage palm was found in Palm Hammock on top of a mounded bed. Its resolve easily seen by the naked eye but its spirit may lay in her soil by the hand of the Native American.
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Thought provoking comparison. Nature is like that for me: it helps me make sense of the rest of my life as it does the thing I’m actually looking at. That’s one amazing tree … and that goes for John too.
Wow, thanks for sharing! That’s exactly what I needed today. I have been feeling extremely drawn to nature’s wonder lately. I’m trying to get John out as much as possible, I know he’s had enough of being stuck in the house.
So when are you coming over for some coffee?
That is an Amazing Palm-I wish John the best