I am in the midst of taking a botanical therapies class and I have learned so much wisdom, that it is bursting out my seams, willing to spill out any moment to share itself with the world. I always thought of plants as an object, as most people do, but the more time you spend outside, surrounded by nature, the sooner you are to realize that they are living organisms just like you or me.

Plants can teach us patience. With each winter death, they come back stronger and brighter in the spring than year before. They are willing to let us pick their fruit, and eat their roots in order for us to survive, all the while being patient enough to continue growing and supporting us even more. They are patient with us while we make our first garden and unknowingly kill all of the wonderful vegetables that we grew. When we forget to water them to the point of their death, they wait until next year to poke their sprouts back up through the soil and start again. They do not vanish or withdraw their fruit when we over-harvest, they forgive us and promise to come back again very soon. Plants are the epitome of patience, and we should follow in suit. We should forgive and forget, come back stronger and more powerful when we are cut down, and love even when others make mistakes.

Plants can teach us love. The more we love the environment the more the environment loves us back. When we plant a tree with love, the tree loves us back by growing big and strong and supplying us fruit to eat and shade to sit underneath on a hot day. When we love the oceans and clean up the pollution we have created, the ocean loves us back by producing beautiful seaweeds and a variety of beautiful fish.

Plants can teach us gratitude. With each bite of an apple, or the cut of your salad greens, its important to appreciate what the earth has given us. In the ways of reciprocity, it is important to be just as grateful for the plants as they are grateful for us. We give them life as much as they give us life and because of that, gratitude is in order. Plants show gratitude by turning their faces to the sun as a way to say thank you for your rays, or decompose in the winter to say thank you to the earth for hosting it.

Plants can teach us respect. Their respect for us is seen in the way they respect their boundaries. They stop their growing when it isn't necessary or where they are not wanted, seen in the vast majority of plants all over the world. The land plants have respect for the ocean by not growing in the water and dessert plants have respect and know boundaries by halting their growth before reaching the mountains. If we showed respect for plants as they do, we would only take from the earth what we need and have a greater appreciation for what we put into our mouths.

We can all learn something from plants that we can take with us throughout our lives that can help us grow and blossom into the wonderful potential that we each hold within.