For most of my life I can honestly say I've had a love, an affinity with bonsai trees. I don't believe I ever saw the correlation between myself and bonsai like I do now.
It had nothing to do with Mr. Miyagi and Daniel-san. While my boys loved that movie and I can still hear Aaron quoting the line, "Daniel Laruso is going to fight....DANIEL LARUSO IS GOING TO FIGHT!" or smile thinking of watching Seth standing on the ladder of the pool ready to jump in while doing that famous crane kick...no, that is not where my love of those trees came from.
When I was about 8 years old I began asking Mom and Dad for a bonsai tree. I don't remember how or where I had seen one, but they fascinated me. That such a piece of perfection could live in a little tray and yet look *in a different perspective* just like big trees, the symmetry, the harmony, just the physical beauty, astounded me. Mom and Dad really had no idea what to do when I asked for one for Christmas, so off to the Sears Catalog they went.
Christmas morning arrived and I tore into the package. I was sorely disappointed. In the box was some pine seed, dirt and a regular old pot. Not at all what I expected and it would have taken a forever to get that seed to grow to anything. That being said, my fervor to get a bonsai only grew.
Fast forward to my finding a lovely Chinese lady in Inkster, Michigan of all places (those of you familiar with Michigan and Inkster in particular will understand that comment) who owned a place called the Bonsai House. Ohhhh, the trees I bought and killed from this dear lady, but boy did I learn.
I currently have 2 pretty bonsai's in my home and two that live at my office. I look at them every day, I water them weekly and they thrive. They thrive despite their circumstances. They are planted in poor soil, they are bent and twisted, yet their leaves are glorious, their symmetry amazing. They don't care what comes their way...as long as they get nourishment and love, they grow!
Recently I've been dealing with a lot of health issues. Ugly things that scare me. I've just found true happiness with a man that not only understands me (for the most part) but loves me despite my ugly parts. We have our own home and are building a beautiful life. One filled with growth and love. One filled with sunshine and rain. You need all of the above to live a full life!
Like a bonsai seedling, I've grown. I went from that not so pretty plastic pot to a home where I am happy, comfortable in. Despite the hardships that life has brought my way, I continue to grow. Life keeps dishing out hardships that may bend me, that may twist me, but I know that I am growing gloriously. The leaves of my life are bright and beautiful. My symmetry and lines, though not what others get to be, are my own and beautiful in their own right. I'm loved and that is the best kind of nourishments for bonsai such as myself.
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