In the afternoon, when I was free, I saw on the desk in the west side of the office that a few hyacinths delivered by the flower shop were in full bloom. To my surprise, the most beautiful one among them turned out to be mine. A cluster of white flowers stretched out from the green leaves. They were so pure and white, looking like mini lilies one by one. The tender yellow stamens embedded in the snow-white petals were like shy women who tried to hide their beauty but could not help emitting strong fragrance... "It actually bloomed, just like this! So beautiful!" I couldn't help but marvel, and at that moment, my joy was uncontrollable. Such a small life must have used up all its energy during every minute and second of my absence for a month, just to blossom before my eyes one day.
The idea of raising hyacinths came from CBB last semester. For a while, we bought many hyacinth bulbs of various colors on Taobao and divided them in the office. I took two, one white and one blue. Since raising hyacinths began, everyone in the office was as curious and anxious as children. At first, we needed to immerse the bottom of the bulb in water and place it in a slightly dark place, waiting for the roots to sprout. I put the two bulbs in miniature disposable paper cups, specially placed at the bottom of the water dispenser cabinet where no light could penetrate. During those days, I would take them out every now and then to check if the roots had sprouted. A few days later, I found that the bulb placed on the colleague's desk had already sprouted roots. Was it because of ventilation? So I also placed the bulbs on my desk, observing from time to time whether there were any signs of root sprouting. About two weeks later, root buds emerged from the bottom of all colleagues' bulbs, some thick and some thin. Thus, the owners of the thin ones started to worry: "Why are my buds so few and so thin?" While the owners of the thick ones had no idea why they were thick, secretly rejoicing in their hearts. I thought the reason for the difference between thickness and thinness was mostly due to each bulb itself, just like people, some are born strong, and some are born weak.
As the roots of the bulbs continued to grow, the disposable paper cups could no longer accommodate those long white roots. I found a long-necked small vase in the office cabinet and raised one of the bulbs in it, while the other bulb relied on the special glass container bought by CBB for water cultivation. In this way, my desk added two small lives. During my leisure time, I would stare blankly at the white roots in the container. One Monday morning at work, I was surprised to find that the white roots of the bulb had already extended to the bottom of the vase. I secretly marveled that such a bare bulb contained such vigorous vitality, requiring only a little water to nourish it, allowing the roots to grow wildly.
About two weeks later, green shoots began to emerge from the bulbs of colleagues H and J. Now, all the people began to hold their own bulbs and observe them carefully. After another two days, J's other bulb also sprouted green shoots. Watching J's two bulbs growing so rapidly, many colleagues couldn't help but comment: "Look, J's two bulbs have been cultivated in disposable paper cups all along, J never pays attention to them, yet they grow so well! Our vases are so good, we change the water every day, cherish them so much, yet there is no sign of growth at all?" No wonder, the "investment" and "output" were indeed a bit disproportionate. As teachers, we thus issued another round of sighs: "These flowers are like the children we teach, some children don't require any effort from teachers or parents, while some children can't be taught well no matter how much effort you put in!" Ha ha, raising flowers and nurturing people really have similar aspects!
T and Y's two bulbs were the most worrying among all the bulbs. T's bulb's roots rotted after a long time, and the bulb began to wither gradually. Just when T was sighing, CBB decisively removed all the rotten roots, changed the water, and continued to cultivate it, somewhat like treating a dead horse as a live one. Sure enough, a few days later, new root buds appeared at the bottom of the bulb, especially thick, which could be described as "surviving after a disaster"! Y's bulb looked a bit different from others, with layers of membranes wrapping the top like an onion head. When most colleagues' bulbs had already sprouted green shoots, Y's one showed no signs of movement. Not until the earliest sprouted green leaves grew very high did we surprisingly discover that Y's one finally struggled to sprout. Thus, jokes were made: "This flower is absolutely like children, there are always excellent students and poor students, and sometimes the gap is not small. But, please do not give up on them easily, because under the appearance of withering life, as long as you treat them kindly, given time, they will always achieve something. And this point is exactly like the attitude of teachers towards students!"
On the eve of winter vacation, H and J's hyacinths predictably bloomed first, both pink. When I examined J teacher's other soon-to-bloom bulb, I finally found the problem that had confused everyone before. All the bulbs that sprouted flower buds first were without exception pink. It seems that the growth of these flowers has nothing to do with the distinction between "noble cultivation" and "cheap cultivation", but rather the type and variety of the flowers. Similar appearances hide different inner qualities. And what truly determines your future postures is precisely those wrapped-up inner qualities.
Now, the first few pink hyacinths that bloomed have already withered, and the two white hyacinths of mine and H's are blooming the most luxuriantly. The two "revived from death" hyacinths of T and Y have also bloomed successively, all in light watermelon red. There are also two purple ones that have bloomed. And the last ones to wait should be the blue ones...
A friend said: "Your hyacinths look very beautiful!" Besides being happy and proud, I seemed to understand more. I haven't ever grown anything since childhood, so the green plants at home often end up dying. Hardly a year-old pot of powder palms couldn't survive the cold of this winter and completely froze to death during the few days I was hospitalized. But the hyacinths blooming before my eyes are so beautiful, yet it seems I didn't contribute much to this beauty and goodness. I prefer to believe that hyacinths are originally a kind of plant with strong vitality.
Every life is a creation of nature.
So every life needs to grow naturally in the natural space-time.
When to take root is natural.
When to sprout is natural.
When to bloom is natural.
When to wither is natural.
The hyacinths before my eyes make me realize the meaning of respecting life.
And the children I face every day are lives that need my respect.
So, let go at this moment.
Let them grow up most naturally and happily!
Hyacinth Flower Language:
As long as the fire of life is lit, we can all enjoy a rich life together!